In a domain-joined networked environment, we always need to restrict users’ access to most PC settings and resources. It is necessary to do so for security and safety reasons. One crucial restriction that we always need to apply is to deny users access to PC Settings and Control Panel. And that is what this article is about. More specifically, this article covers the detailed steps to preventing users’ access to the Control Panel and PC Settings using Group Policy on Windows Server 2022.

In our example, our domain controller machine runs Windows Server 2022, on which we create the group policy. We create an Organization Unit (OU) level group policy directly on the (OU) that contains the users to which we apply the policy.

You may also like to read Install Active Directory On Windows Server 2022 Using PowerShell.

Steps to Deny Access to PC Settings and Control Panel

As we described in the scenario earlier, we create the policy that is linked to an OU, which contains the users to which we apply the restriction. We can create the group policy first and link that to the OU, or we can create the group policy directly on the OU. Either way ends up with the same result. However, we go with the second approach in our example. That being said, let’s go with the steps.

1. Press down the Windows key + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialogue box.
2. Type in gpmc.msc and press Enter to open the Group Policy Management console.

3. Right-click on the OU to which you want to associate the group policy. Then, select Create a GPO in this domain,… option.

4. Put a name for the Group Policy Object (GPO) in the relevant box, and click OK.

5. Once the GPO is created, right-click on it, and select Edit from the context menu.

6. On the Group Policy Management Editor window, expand Policies under User Configuration. Then, expand the Administrative Template and click on Control Panel. Finally, double-click on Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings.

7. On the configuration window, check the Enabled option. Then, click OK, and close the Group Policy Management Editor window.

To this end, we have created the group policy to prevent users’ access to the Control Panel and PC settings. We created it directly linked to the OU that contains user accounts that we want to restrict. So, it is all done. To verify it, go with the next section.

Verifying the Above Group Policy Configuration

To check the above restriction, we need to log in with a user account that is a member of the OU to which we linked the group policy. Then, we update the group policy and try to open the Control Panel and PC Settings. See the below steps.

1. Login to the client’s computer with a user account that is a member of the OU to which you linked the restriction.
2. Run gpupdate /force in the Run dialog box to perform group policy updates. Wait for a while until the group policy completes.

3. Once the group policy gets updated, try to open the Control Panel or PC Settings. It doesn’t open, and you will face the pop-up window shown in the below pic.

That is all we need to do to check how the restriction we configured works and if it is applied correctly.

Conclusion

It is a common setting in a domain environment to deny users access to the Control Panel and PC settings. It is essential for security and safety reasons. As the steps discussed above, we can apply this restriction simply by defining and configuring a group policy object to an OU that contains the target users.

In the end, I hope you found this article helpful. Do not hesitate to share your thoughts and queries in the comment section.

The post Deny Users Access to PC Settings and Control Panel using Group Policy appeared first on TECHNIG.

Here you just learn about backup and restore Group Policy Object in Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019. This method works the same for other Windows server as well. Group policy objects backup will helps you protect GPOs configuration. It is easy to create and edit group policy object from Group Policy Management on Windows Server. But takes to much time to completely configure the settings of each GPOs. Having a backup save you time and effort to reconfigure settings of a new GPO.

Backup and Restore Group Policy Object

To back up the created GPO in Windows Server, navigate to Group Policy Management console from server dashboard or type ‘gpmc.msc‘ in windows run and then press enter to open the Group Policy Management Console.

1. Type “gpmc.msc” on run and press enter to open the group policy management console.
2. Expand the domain and your domain name.
3. Now, expand the Group Policy Objects to see all GPOs created by you.

4. In Group Policy Management expand the domain name and group policy objects in order to see all created objects.

5. To create a backup from all GOPs, right-click the Group Policy Objects and click Back up all. 

Remember, this will backup all modified and non-modified GPOs which you have created for the domain. The other configuration like linked objects, Enforced, and Block Inheritance to domain organizational units will not back up. The full configuration back up just done a full system back up with Windows backup services.

6. Now in Back Up Group Policy Object page, click Browse and choose wherever to want to save backups and type some description in the description box, then click Back Up button.

7. Good, the backup task was accomplished successfully. Let’s check how do we can restore the deleted GPO from backup data.

Restore Group Policy Object

To restore GPO, right-click the Group Policy Objects and click Manage Backups. In the Manage Backups page brows to the backup directory or location on the hard disk.

You see backup contents in GPO backup folder. But if you want to restore a policy object, select GPO and click Restore button.

Click OK, if ask you ‘Do you want to restore the selected backup? and selected backup will restore the Group Policy Objects.

Now you can link and apply it to your OUs in your domain.

Hope this helps you solve the backup and restore of group policy object on Windows server. If you have any issue, just write us in the comment box.

The post Backup & Restore Group Policy Objects in Windows Server 2016 appeared first on TECHNIG.