Group Policies in XP
Microsoft introduced a new set of group policy features with the release of Windows XP. Group policy in XP contained the same set of functions as those in the earlier operating systems Windows 2000, but included some 200 new settings, some specific to XP. Among the XP group policy updates were administrative template files for core system settings, NetMeeting, Windows Media and Internet Explorer.
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Function
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Group policies allow an administrator to limit a user's actions and access. For security reasons, an administrator might use group policies to prevent a user from running unauthorized executable files. Similarly, an administrator might limit or block a user's access to particular areas of a network.
Access
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Windows XP users can access and view the group policies related to their system using the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), an MMC snap-in. The GPMC provides a graphical view of the policies, or objects, and allows the user to perform actions such as backing up and restoring policies and importing and exporting individual group policy objects.
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Types
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For Windows XP systems, administrators can set different types of group policies, such as policies enacted through Active Directory and policies enacted locally. Group policies enacted through Active Directory can be granular and user-specific, applying to any system that is part of the Active Directory. However, local group policies in Windows XP cannot apply exclusively to individual users; that functionality becomes available in operating systems beginning with Windows Vista.
Limitations
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Group policy settings that restrict a user's activity may be limited in their effectiveness depending on how the restriction is enforced. If an administrator seeks to prevent a user from using a particular feature in a software application, the administrator can set the option to be unavailable through the application's user interface. In that case, the item would not be available, for example, in a drop-down menu. However, that would not restrict the user from using the feature by accessing it at a lower level than the user interface, such as through a command line.
Requirements
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Windows XP users who want to run the GPMC to review the group policies for their system must have administrator access and must install the .NET framework as well as Service Pack 1.
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