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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Intermediate

Group Policy

Windows Active Directory feature for centrally applying security and configuration settings to users and computers.

Definition

Group Policy Objects (GPOs) are linked to sites, domains, or organizational units and processed in LSDOU order (local, site, domain, OU). They enforce password and lockout policies, audit settings, software restrictions, firewall rules, and BitLocker. Cloud-managed devices use Intune configuration profiles for similar purposes.

Example

gpupdate /force applies updated GPO settings, and gpresult /r shows which policies applied.

Exam tip

Know LSDOU processing order and that later (closer) GPOs win by default.

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