Group Policy

Group Policy: The infrastructure within Active Directory directory service that enables directory-based change and configuration management of user and computer settings, including security and user data. You use Group Policy to define configurations for groups of users and computers. With Group Policy, you can specify policy settings for registry-based policies, security, software installation, scripts, folder redirection, remote installation services, and Internet Explorer maintenance. The Group Policy settings that you create are contained in a Group Policy object (GPO). By associating a GPO with selected Active Directory system containers—sites, domains, and organizational units—you can apply the GPO's policy settings to the users and computers in those Active Directory containers. To create an individual GPO, use the Group Policy Object Editor. To manage Group Policy objects across an enterprise, you can use the Group Policy Management console.