How Windows 95 Determines Which Policies to Enforce

• Microsoft Windows 95

SUMMARY

When policies are being enforced with Windows 95, the following queries are used to determine the correct policy for the current user:

1. Does a specific policy exist for the user? If yes, implement the policy; if no, continue to the next query.

2. Are group policies enabled? If yes, is the current user a member of any groups within the policy file? If the user is a member of multiple groups, the first one that is specified in the policy file is implemented. If group policies are not enabled or the user is not a member of a group for which policies are implemented, continue to the next query.

3. Is there a default user in the policy file? If yes, implement the policy; if no, use the current logon User.dat file.

MORE INFORMATION

When a user logs on and policies are being enforced, the logon name is set as the current user when the login script finishes. If the current user has a specific policy available, that policy is used.

If the user does not have a policy, and group policies are enabled, Windows 95 determines whether the user is a member of any of the groups specified in the .pol file. If the current user is a member of a group, the group policy with the highest priority is used. Groups can be moved up and down in priority in Group Policy Editor.

If the user is not a member of any group, the default user policy is used. If there is no default user policy, the existing policy remains in effect.