Extending the Value of Group Policy Securely & Effectively

In this whitepaper, Microsoft Group Policy MVP, Darren Mar-Elia, expertly discusses the capabilities of Group Policy with respect to security configuration, including a number of new features introduced in Windows 7 & Server 2008-R2; how policy gets delivered and the tattooing nature of security settings; the free Microsoft Security Compliance Manager tool and how it can help you define security baselines based on best-practice templates that can be exported to live GPOs; the challenges of using Group Policy as a security compliance solution, including some best practices; and how 3rd parties are leveraging and extending Group Policy as a tool for delivering new Windows security features.