Welcome to the Microsoft^® Windows^® Group Policy Guide. The Microsoft Windows Group Policy Guide covers the topic of Group Policy—quite possibly the most misunderstood product that Microsoft has ever introduced. Many system administrators, network engineers, and IT managers think of Group Policy as a complex behemoth within Active Directory^® that they will never truly understand, and yet Group Policy is widely implemented because its benefits are well-known in areas of security, software distribution, and desktop lockdown. When you’ve widely implemented a product that you don’t understand, you have a real problem and a frustrating experience for everyone involved, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Group Policy is less complex, more configurable, and more manageable than you might have imagined—and step by step, chapter by chapter, you’ll learn why as you read this book.