Tag: Computer Configuration
Turn off Application Telemetry
The policy controls the state of the Application Telemetry engine in the system. Application Telemetry is a mechanism that tracks anonymous usage of specific Windows system components by applications. Turning Application Telemetry off by selecting “enable” will stop the collection of usage data. If the customer Experience Improvement program is turned off Application Telemetry will be turned off regardless of how this policy is set. Disabling telemetry will take effect on any newly launched applications. To ensure that telemetry collection has stopped for all applications please reboot your machine.
Block launching desktop apps associated with a URI scheme
This policy setting lets you control whether Windows Store apps can open URIs using the default desktop app for a URI scheme. Because desktop apps run at a higher integrity level than Windows Store apps there is a risk that a URI scheme launched by a Windows Store app might compromise the system by launching a desktop app. If you enable this policy setting Windows Store apps cannot open URIs in the default desktop app for a URI scheme; they can open URIs only in other Windows Store apps. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting Windows Store apps can open URIs in the default desktop app for a URI scheme. Note: Enabling this policy setting does not block Windows Store apps from opening the default desktop app for the http https and mailto URI schemes. The handlers for these URI schemes are hardened against URI-based vulnerabilities from untrusted sources reducing the associated risk.
Block launching desktop apps associated with a file.
This policy setting lets you control whether Windows Store apps can open files using the default desktop app for a file type. Because desktop apps run at a higher integrity level than Windows Store apps there is a risk that a Windows Store app might compromise the system by opening a file in the default desktop app for a file type. If you enable this policy setting Windows Store apps cannot open files in the default desktop app for a file type; they can open files only in other Windows Store apps. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting Windows Store apps can open files in the default desktop app for a file type.
Allow development of Windows Store apps without installing a developer license
Allows or denies development of Windows Store applications without installing a developer license. If you enable this setting and enable the “Allow all trusted apps to install” Group Policy you can develop Windows Store apps without installing a developer license. If you disable or do not configure this setting you’ll need to install a developer license before you can develop Windows Store apps.
Allow deployment operations in special profiles
This policy setting allows you to manage the deployment of Windows Store apps when the user is signed in using a special profile. Special profiles are the following user profiles where changes are discarded after the user signs off:Roaming user profiles to which the “Delete cached copies of roaming profiles” Group Policy setting appliesMandatory user profiles and super-mandatory profiles which are created by an administratorTemporary user profiles which are created when an error prevents the correct profile from loadingUser profiles for the Guest account and members of the Guests groupIf you enable this policy setting Group Policy allows deployment operations (adding registering staging updating or removing an app package) of Windows Store apps when using a special profile. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting Group Policy blocks deployment operations of Windows Store apps when using a special profile.
Allow all trusted apps to install
This policy setting allows you to manage the installation of trusted line-of-business (LOB) Windows Store apps. If you enable this policy setting you can install any LOB Windows Store app (which must be signed with a certificate chain that can be successfully validated by the local computer). If you disable or do not configure this policy setting you cannot install LOB Windows Store apps.
Turn off Inventory Collector
This policy setting controls the state of the Inventory Collector. The Inventory Collector inventories applications files devices and drivers on the system and sends the information to Microsoft. This information is used to help diagnose compatibility problems. If you enable this policy setting the Inventory Collector will be turned off and data will not be sent to Microsoft. Collection of installation data through the Program Compatibility Assistant is also disabled. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting the Inventory Collector will be turned on. Note: This policy setting has no effect if the Customer Experience Improvement Program is turned off. The Inventory Collector will be off.
Turn off Steps Recorder
This policy setting controls the state of Steps Recorder. Steps Recorder keeps a record of steps taken by the user. The data generated by Steps Recorder can be used in feedback systems such as Windows Error Reporting to help developers understand and fix problems. The data includes user actions such as keyboard input and mouse input user interface data and screen shots. Steps Recorder includes an option to turn on and off data collection. If you enable this policy setting Steps Recorder will be disabled. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting Steps Recorder will be enabled.
Turn off Program Compatibility Assistant
This policy setting controls the state of the Program Compatibility Assistant (PCA). The PCA monitors applications run by the user. When a potential compatibility issue with an application is detected the PCA will prompt the user with recommended solutions. To configure the diagnostic settings for the PCA go to System->Troubleshooting and Diagnostics->Application Compatibility Diagnostics. If you enable this policy setting the PCA will be turned off. The user will not be presented with solutions to known compatibility issues when running applications. Turning off the PCA can be useful for system administrators who require better performance and are already aware of application compatibility issues. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting the PCA will be turned on. To configure the diagnostic settings for the PCA go to System->Troubleshooting and Diagnostics->Application Compatibility Diagnostics. Note: The Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS) and Program Compatibility Assistant Service must be running for the PCA to run. These services can be configured by using the Services snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console.
Turn off Application Compatibility Engine
This policy controls the state of the application compatibility engine in the system. The engine is part of the loader and looks through a compatibility database every time an application is started on the system. If a match for the application is found it provides either run-time solutions or compatibility fixes or displays an Application Help message if the application has a know problem. Turning off the application compatibility engine will boost system performance. However this will degrade the compatibility of many popular legacy applications and will not block known incompatible applications from installing. (For Instance: This may result in a blue screen if an old anti-virus application is installed. )The Windows Resource Protection and User Account Control features of Windows use the application compatibility engine to provide mitigations for application problems. If the engine is turned off these mitigations will not be applied to applications and their installers and these applications may fail to install or run properly. This option is useful to server administrators who require faster performance and are aware of the compatibility of the applications they are using. It is particularly useful for a web server where applications may be launched several hundred times a second and the performance of the loader is essential. NOTE: Many system processes cache the value of this setting for performance reasons. If you make changes to this setting please reboot to ensure that your system accurately reflects those changes.