Overview of System Policies for Users

You can manage user settings in system policies only if user profiles are enabled on the target computer. System Policy Editor uses the properties for Default User to define the default policies in the following areas:

Control Panel.

Set policies to prevent the user from accessing Control Panel features, such as network, password, or system settings.

Desktop.

Set policies to use standard wallpaper and color schemes.

Network.

Set policies to restrict file and printer sharing or to specify networking components and settings.

Shell.

Set policies to customize folders on the desktop and to restrict changes to the user interface.

System.

Set policies to restrict the use of Registry editing tools, applications, and MS-DOS – based applications.

You can apply these policies to the default user, to specific named users, or to groups of users. For more information about the settings for each of these categories, see "System Policy Settings Summary" later in this chapter.