Chapter 17. System and Account Policies
- Table of Contents
- 17.1. Creating and Managing System Policies
- 17.1.1. Windows 9x/Me Policies
- 17.1.2. Windows NT4 Style Policy Files
- 17.1.3. MS Windows 200x / XP Professional Policies
- 17.2. Managing Account/User Policies
- 17.2.1. With Windows NT4/200x
- 17.2.2. With a Samba PDC
- 17.3. System Startup and Logon Processing Overview
17.1. Creating and Managing System Policies
Under MS Windows platforms, particularly those following the release of MS Windows NT4 and MS Windows 95) it is possible to create a type of file that would be placed in the NETLOGON share of a domain controller. As the client logs onto the network this file is read and the contents initiate changes to the registry of the client machine. This file allows changes to be made to those parts of the registry that affect users, groups of users, or machines.
For MS Windows 9x/Me this file must be called Config.POL and may be generated using a tool called poledit.exe, better known as the Policy Editor. The policy editor was provided on the Windows 98 installation CD, but dissappeared again with the introduction of MS Windows Me (Millenium Edition). From comments from MS Windows network administrators it would appear that this tool became a part of the MS Windows Me Resource Kit.
MS Windows NT4 Server products include the System Policy Editor under the Start -> Programs -> Administrative Tools menu item. For MS Windows NT4 and later clients this file must be called NTConfig.POL.
New with the introduction of MS Windows 2000 was the Microsoft Management Console or MMC. This tool is the new wave in the ever changing landscape of Microsoft methods for management of network access and security. Every new Microsoft product or technology seems to obsolete the old rules and to introduce newer and more complex tools and methods. To Microsoft's credit though, the MMC does appear to be a step forward, but improved functionality comes at a great price.
Before embarking on the configuration of network and system policies it is highly advisable to read the documentation available from Microsoft's web site regarding Implementing Profiles and Policies in Windows NT 4.0 from http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/management/deployment/planguide/prof_policies.asp available from Microsoft. There are a large number of documents in addition to this old one that should also be read and understood. Try searching on the Microsoft web site for "Group Policies".
What follows is a very brief discussion with some helpful notes. The information provided here is incomplete - you are warned.
17.1.1. Windows 9x/Me Policies
You need the Win98 Group Policy Editor to set Group Profiles up under Windows 9x/Me. It can be found on the Original full product Win98 installation CD under tools/reskit/netadmin/poledit. Install this using the Add/Remove Programs facility and then click on the 'Have Disk' tab.
Use the Group Policy Editor to create a policy file that specifies the location of user profiles and/or the My Documents etc. stuff. Then save these settings in a file called Config.POL that needs to be placed in the root of the [NETLOGON] share. If Win98 is configured to log onto the Samba Domain, it will automatically read this file and update the Win9x/Me registry of the machine as it logs on.
Further details are covered in the Win98 Resource Kit documentation.
If you do not take the right steps, then every so often Win9x/Me will check the integrity of the registry and will restore it's settings from the back-up copy of the registry it stores on each Win9x/Me machine. Hence, you will occasionally notice things changing back to the original settings.
Install the group policy handler for Win9x to pick up group policies. Look on the Win98 CD in \tools\reskit\netadmin\poledit. Install group policies on a Win9x client by double-clicking grouppol.inf. Log off and on again a couple of times and see if Win98 picks up group policies. Unfortunately this needs to be done on every Win9x/Me machine that uses group policies.
17.1.2. Windows NT4 Style Policy Files
To create or edit ntconfig.pol you must use the NT Server Policy Editor, poledit.exe which is included with NT4 Server but not NT Workstation. There is a Policy Editor on a NT4 Workstation but it is not suitable for creating Domain Policies. Further, although the Windows 95 Policy Editor can be installed on an NT4 Workstation/Server, it will not work with NT clients. However, the files from the NT Server will run happily enough on an NT4 Workstation.
You need poledit.exe, common.adm and winnt.adm. It is convenient to put the two *.adm files in the c:\winnt\inf directory which is where the binary will look for them unless told otherwise. Note also that that directory is normally 'hidden'.
The Windows NT policy editor is also included with the Service Pack 3 (and later) for Windows NT 4.0. Extract the files using servicepackname /x, i.e. that's Nt4sp6ai.exe /x for service pack 6a. The policy editor, poledit.exe and the associated template files (*.adm) should be extracted as well. It is also possible to downloaded the policy template files for Office97 and get a copy of the policy editor. Another possible location is with the Zero Administration Kit available for download from Microsoft.
17.1.2.1. Registry Tattoos
With NT4 style registry based policy changes, a large number of settings are not automatically reversed as the user logs off. Since the settings that were in the NTConfig.POL file were applied to the client machine registry and that apply to the hive key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE are permanent until explicitly reversed. This is known as tattooing. It can have serious consequences down-stream and the administrator must be extremely careful not to lock out the ability to manage the machine at a later date.
17.1.3. MS Windows 200x / XP Professional Policies
Windows NT4 System policies allows setting of registry parameters specific to users, groups and computers (client workstations) that are members of the NT4 style domain. Such policy file will work with MS Windows 2000 / XP clients also.
New to MS Windows 2000 Microsoft introduced a new style of group policy that confers a superset of capabilities compared with NT4 style policies. Obviously, the tool used to create them is different, and the mechanism for implementing them is much changed.
The older NT4 style registry based policies are known as Administrative Templates in MS Windows 2000/XP Group Policy Objects (GPOs). The later includes ability to set various security configurations, enforce Internet Explorer browser settings, change and redirect aspects of the users' desktop (including: the location of My Documents files (directory), as well as intrinsics of where menu items will appear in the Start menu). An additional new feature is the ability to make available particular software Windows applications to particular users and/or groups.
Remember: NT4 policy files are named NTConfig.POL and are stored in the root of the NETLOGON share on the domain controllers. A Windows NT4 user enters a username, a password and selects the domain name to which the logon will attempt to take place. During the logon process the client machine reads the NTConfig.POL file from the NETLOGON share on the authenticating server, modifies the local registry values according to the settings in this file.
Windows 2K GPOs are very feature rich. They are NOT stored in the NETLOGON share, rather part of a Windows 200x policy file is stored in the Active Directory itself and the other part is stored in a shared (and replicated) volume called the SYSVOL folder. This folder is present on all Active Directory domain controllers. The part that is stored in the Active Directory itself is called the group policy container (GPC), and the part that is stored in the replicated share called SYSVOL is known as the group policy template (GPT).
With NT4 clients the policy file is read and executed upon only aas each user log onto the network. MS Windows 200x policies are much more complex - GPOs are processed and applied at client machine startup (machine specific part) and when the user logs onto the network the user specific part is applied. In MS Windows 200x style policy management each machine and/or user may be subject to any number of concurently applicable (and applied) policy sets (GPOs). Active Directory allows the administrator to also set filters over the policy settings. No such equivalent capability exists with NT4 style policy files.
17.1.3.1. Administration of Win2K / XP Policies
Instructions
Instead of using the tool called "The System Policy Editor", commonly called Poledit (from the executable name poledit.exe), GPOs are created and managed using a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in as follows:
Go to the Windows 200x / XP menu Start->Programs->Administrative Tools and select the MMC snap-in called "Active Directory Users and Computers"
Select the domain or organizational unit (OU) that you wish to manage, then right click to open the context menu for that object, select the properties item.
Now left click on the Group Policy tab, then left click on the New tab. Type a name for the new policy you will create.
Now left click on the Edit tab to commence the steps needed to create the GPO.
All policy configuration options are controlled through the use of policy administrative templates. These files have a .adm extension, both in NT4 as well as in Windows 200x / XP. Beware however, since the .adm files are NOT interchangible across NT4 and Windows 200x. The later introduces many new features as well as extended definition capabilities. It is well beyond the scope of this documentation to explain how to program .adm files, for that the adminsitrator is referred to the Microsoft Windows Resource Kit for your particular version of MS Windows.
 | The MS Windows 2000 Resource Kit contains a tool called gpolmig.exe. This tool can be used to migrate an NT4 NTConfig.POL file into a Windows 200x style GPO. Be VERY careful how you use this powerful tool. Please refer to the resource kit manuals for specific usage information. |
17.2. Managing Account/User Policies
Policies can define a specific user's settings or the settings for a group of users. The resulting policy file contains the registry settings for all users, groups, and computers that will be using the policy file. Separate policy files for each user, group, or computer are not not necessary.
If you create a policy that will be automatically downloaded from validating domain controllers, you should name the file NTconfig.POL. As system administrator, you have the option of renaming the policy file and, by modifying the Windows NT-based workstation, directing the computer to update the policy from a manual path. You can do this by either manually changing the registry or by using the System Policy Editor. This path can even be a local path such that each machine has its own policy file, but if a change is necessary to all machines, this change must be made individually to each workstation.
When a Windows NT4/200x/XP machine logs onto the network the NETLOGON share on the authenticating domain controller for the presence of the NTConfig.POL file. If one exists it is downloaded, parsed and then applied to the user's part of the registry.
MS Windows 200x/XP clients that log onto an MS Windows Active Directory security domain may additionally, acquire policy settings through Group Policy Objects (GPOs) that are defined and stored in Active Directory itself. The key benefit of using AS GPOs is that they impose no registry tatooing effect. This has considerable advanage compared with the use of NTConfig.POL (NT4) style policy updates.
Inaddition to user access controls that may be imposed or applied via system and/or group policies in a manner that works in conjunction with user profiles, the user management environment under MS Windows NT4/200x/XP allows per domain as well as per user account restrictions to be applied. Common restrictions that are frequently used includes:
| Logon Hours |
| Password Aging |
| Permitted Logon from certain machines only |
| Account type (Local or Global) |
| User Rights |
17.2.1. With Windows NT4/200x
The tools that may be used to configure these types of controls from the MS Windows environment are: The NT4 User Manager for domains, the NT4 System and Group Policy Editor, the registry editor (regedt32.exe). Under MS Windows 200x/XP this is done using the Microsoft Managment Console (MMC) with approapriate "snap-ins", the registry editor, and potentially also the NT4 System and Group Policy Editor.
17.2.2. With a Samba PDC
With a Samba Domain Controller, the new tools for managing of user account and policy information includes: smbpasswd, pdbedit, smbgroupedit, net, rpcclient.. The administrator should read the man pages for these tools and become familiar with their use.
17.3. System Startup and Logon Processing Overview
The following attempts to document the order of processing of system and user policies following a system reboot and as part of the user logon:
Network starts, then Remote Procedure Call System Service (RPCSS) and Multiple Universal Naming Convention Provider (MUP) start
Where Active Directory is involved, an ordered list of Group Policy Objects (GPOs) is downloaded and applied. The list may include GPOs that:
No desktop user interface is presented until the above have been processed.Apply to the location of machines in a Directory Apply only when settings have changed Depend on configuration of scope of applicability: local, site, domain, organizational unit, etc. Execution of start-up scripts (hidden and synchronous by defaut).
A keyboard action to affect start of logon (Ctrl-Alt-Del).
User credentials are validated, User profile is loaded (depends on policy settings).
An ordered list of User GPOs is obtained. The list contents depends on what is configured in respsect of:
Is user a domain member, thus subject to particular policies Loopback enablement, and the state of the loopback policy (Merge or Replace) Location of the Active Directory itself Has the list of GPOs changed. No processing is needed if not changed. User Policies are applied from Active Directory. Note: There are several types.
Logon scripts are run. New to Win2K and Active Directory, logon scripts may be obtained based on Group Policy objects (hidden and executed synchronously). NT4 style logon scripts are then run in a normal window.
The User Interface as determined from the GPOs is presented. Note: In a Samba domain (like and NT4 Domain) machine (system) policies are applied at start-up, User policies are applied at logon.