Group Policy Settings
Microsoft® Windows® Internet Explorer® 8 provided nearly 1,500 Group Policy settings that IT pros can use to manage and control the web browser configuration. For example, Internet Explorer 8 provided Group Policy settings that govern access to settings on the Internet Options dialog box, define security zones, and add or remove websites in a security zone. Internet Explorer 9 adds new Group Policy settings to support new features. Table 3 describes some of these new Group Policy settings. Note that from Internet Explorer 9 Beta to Internet Explorer 9, a few additional policies have been added, based on new features in Internet Explorer 9 and user feedback.
Table 3: New Group Policy Settings for Internet Explorer 9.
Policy name |
Policy path |
Prevent Deleting Download History |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Delete Browsing History |
Disable add-on performance notifications |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Enable alternative codecs in HTML5 media elements |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel\Advanced settings\Multimedia |
Allow Internet Explorer 8 Shutdown Behavior |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Install binaries signed by MD2 and MD4 signing technologies |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Security Features\Binary Behavior Security Restriction |
Automatically enable newly installed add-ons |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Turn off Managing SmartScreen Filter |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Prevent configuration of top result search in the Address bar |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Settings\Advanced settings\Searching |
Prevent Deleting ActiveX Filtering and Tracking Protection data |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Delete Browsing History |
Go to an intranet site for a single word entry in the Address bar |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Settings\Advanced settings\Browsing |
Show tabs below Address bar |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Toolbars |
Prevent users from bypassing SmartScreen Filter's application reputation warnings about files that are not commonly downloaded from the Internet |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Disable Browser Geolocation |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Turn off ability to pin sites |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Turn on ActiveX Filtering |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer |
Configure Tracking Protection Lists |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Privacy |
Tracking Protection Threshold |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Privacy |
Turn off Tracking Protection |
Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Privacy |
To add these new Group Policy settings, Internet Explorer 9 installs an administrative template (ADMX file) during normal installation. This file is inetres.admx in %WinDir%\PolicyDefinitions. Internet Explorer 9 also installs a language file for the administrative template (ADML file). This file is inetres.adml in %WinDir%\PolicyDefinitions\LCID, where LCID is a language ID such as en-US.
To create Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in the domain, based on these new settings, you can do one of the following:
Install the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on a computer that runs Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 9. Then, turn on the Group Policy Management Tools feature and use the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) to edit GPOs in the domain. For more information about installing RSAT and turning on individual remote management tools, see Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7.
Copy the ADMX and ADML files to the Group Policy central store, and then edit GPOs in the domain as usual. For more information about managing ADMX and ADML files, see How to Create a Central Store for Group Policy Administrative Templates in Windows Vista.
See Also
Concepts
Tools Support
Internet Explorer 9 - Overview for IT Professionals