Group Policy
The group policy settings at always fresh will be configured to prevent data breaches, being that more employees will be accessing the workstations. A group policy is vital because it helps in making the network safer because it will determine the workplace behavior. By implementing the policy, it is easy to limit users from accessing specific resources and performing some tasks, such as forcing a given homepage to open for all users in the network (Hausman, 2004). The group policy applies to everyone within the company’s network. The group policy will involve the following.
Moderating Access to Control Panel
Setting limit on the workstations’ computers’ control panel will create a safer business environment for always fresh. The control panel helps to control all aspects of a computer; therefore, moderating who has access to it will ensure data resources remain safe even after the expansion of workstations.
Preventing Windows from Storing LAN Manager Hash
Windows generate and store user account passwords in form of hashes. The passwords are generated as either LAN Manager hash or Windows NT hash. Windows stores the hashes in the local Security Accounts Manager or in the Active directory (Stanek, n.d). However, the LAN Manager hash is weak, making it prone to hacking. Therefore, Windows will not be allowed to store an LM hash of the passwords used within the workstations.
Control Access to Command Prompt
In some cases, command prompts are used to run commands that allow users high-level access so that they can evade other access restrictions within the system. Therefore, to ensure optimum system resources’ security, it is important disable command prompt. With this, the user will always get an alert that some settings are preventing the action whenever he or she attempts to open a command window.
Disable Forced System Restarts
The policy will address this because Always Fresh has often experienced forced system restarts. Forced system restarts mostly happen when a user is working on a computer and he gets a message that the computer needs a restart because of a security update. In case the user takes time to respond or fails to see the message, the computer will restart automatically. This will lead to the loss of important documents and work that was not saved. Therefore, forced restart should be disabled in all computers at the workstation.
Removable Media Drives are prohibited
Removable media drives, including DVDs, CDs, and USB drives are prone to infection. These drives might also contain malware and viruses. This means that if a user plugs an infected removable media into one of the computers at the workstations, it can infect the company’s entire network. Therefore, according to the Always Fresh Group Policy, any form of removable media drive is not allowed.
The policy will be subject to frequent auditing to ensure that no unnecessary changes are made. Auditing will ensure that the company has full control of its IT infrastructure despite adding more workstations to its network. The policy should also be available to all employees and they should be aware of the outcomes of any prohibited action.
References
Hausman, K. (2004). MCSA/MCSE Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003
Environment Exam 70-292: Managing Access to Resources.
Stanek, R.W. (n.d). Windows Group Policy.