Creating Group Policy Objects

In Windows AD, Group policy allows you to define computer and user configuration settings that AD applies to each system/user. GPOs ensure a system remains configured per policy. Each time a domain-joined computer starts up or a domain user logs in, the local group policy agent on your computer obtains the group policy settings from AD and ensures they are applied. Additionally, the group policy client regularly re-applies policies at a regular interval.

In this recipe, you start by creating a group policy object within the Active Directory. You then configure the GPO, enabling computers in the IT organizational unit to use PowerShell scripts on those systems or set a specific screen saver.

You can configure thousands of settings for a user or computer through group policy. Microsoft has created a spreadsheet that lists the policy settings, which you can download from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/101451. At the time of writing, the spreadsheet...