Category: At least Windows Server 2003 operating systems or Windows XP Professional
Register PTR records
Specifies if DNS client computers will register PTR resource records. By default DNS clients configured to perform dynamic DNS registration will attempt to register PTR resource record only if they successfully registered the corresponding A resource record. If you enable this policy setting registration of PTR records will be determined by the option that you choose under Register PTR records. To use this policy setting click Enabled and then select one of the following options from the drop-down list:Do not register: Computers will not attempt to register PTR resource records. Register: Computers will attempt to register PTR resource records even if registration of the corresponding A records was not successful. Register only if A record registration succeeds: Computers will attempt to register PTR resource records only if registration of the corresponding A records was successful. If you disable this policy setting or if you do not configure this policy setting computers will use locally configured settings.
Register DNS records with connection-specific DNS suffix
Specifies if a computer performing dynamic DNS registration will register A and PTR resource records with a concatenation of its computer name and a connection-specific DNS suffix in addition to registering these records with a concatenation of its computer name and the primary DNS suffix. By default a DNS client performing dynamic DNS registration registers A and PTR resource records with a concatenation of its computer name and the primary DNS suffix. For example a computer name of mycomputer and a primary DNS suffix of microsoft. com will be registered as: mycomputer. microsoft. com. If you enable this policy setting a computer will register A and PTR resource records with its connection-specific DNS suffix in addition to the primary DNS suffix. This applies to all network connections used by computers that receive this policy setting. For example with a computer name of mycomputer a primary DNS suffix of microsoft. com and a connection specific DNS suffix of VPNconnection a computer will register A and PTR resource records for mycomputer. VPNconnection and mycomputer. microsoft. com when this policy setting is enabled. Important: This policy setting is ignored on a DNS client computer if dynamic DNS registration is disabled. If you disable this policy setting or if you do not configure this policy setting a DNS client computer will not register any A and PTR resource records using a connection-specific DNS suffix.
Primary DNS suffix devolution
Specifies if the DNS client performs primary DNS suffix devolution during the name resolution process. With devolution a DNS client creates queries by appending a single-label unqualified domain name with the parent suffix of the primary DNS suffix name and the parent of that suffix and so on stopping if the name is successfully resolved or at a level determined by devolution settings. Devolution can be used when a user or application submits a query for a single-label domain name. The DNS client appends DNS suffixes to the single-label unqualified domain name based on the state of the Append primary and connection specific DNS suffixes radio button and Append parent suffixes of the primary DNS suffix check box on the DNS tab in Advanced TCP/IP Settings for the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box. Devolution is not enabled if a global suffix search list is configured using Group Policy. If a global suffix search list is not configured and the Append primary and connection specific DNS suffixes radio button is selected the DNS client appends the following names to a single-label name when it sends DNS queries:The primary DNS suffix as specified on the Computer Name tab of the System control panel. Each connection-specific DNS suffix assigned either through DHCP or specified in the DNS suffix for this connection box on the DNS tab in the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box for each connection. For example when a user submits a query for a single-label name such as “example” the DNS client attaches a suffix such as “microsoft. com” resulting in the query “example. microsoft. com” before sending the query to a DNS server. If a DNS suffix search list is not specified the DNS client attaches the primary DNS suffix to a single-label name. If this query fails the connection-specific DNS suffix is attached for a new query. If none of these queries are resolved the client devolves the primary DNS suffix of the computer (drops the leftmost label of the primary DNS suffix) attaches this devolved primary DNS suffix to the single-label name and submits this new query to a DNS server. For example if the primary DNS suffix ooo. aaa. microsoft. com is attached to the non-dot-terminated single-label name “example” and the DNS query for example. ooo. aaa. microsoft. com fails the DNS client devolves the primary DNS suffix (drops the leftmost label) till the specified devolution level and submits a query for example. aaa. microsoft. com. If this query fails the primary DNS suffix is devolved further if it is under specified devolution level and the query example. microsoft. com is submitted. If this query fails devolution continues if it is under specified devolution level and the query example. microsoft. com is submitted corresponding to a devolution level of two. The primary DNS suffix cannot be devolved beyond a devolution level of two. The devolution level can be configured using the primary DNS suffix devolution level policy setting. The default devolution level is two. If you enable this policy setting or if you do not configure this policy setting DNS clients attempt to resolve single-label names using concatenations of the single-label name to be resolved and the devolved primary DNS suffix. If you disable this policy setting DNS clients do not attempt to resolve names that are concatenations of the single-label name to be resolved and the devolved primary DNS suffix.
Configure how often a DFS client discovers domain controllers
This policy setting allows you to configure how often a Distributed File System (DFS) client attempts to discover domain controllers on a network. By default a DFS client attempts to discover domain controllers every 15 minutes. If you enable this policy setting you can configure how often a DFS client attempts to discover domain controllers. This value is specified in minutes. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting the default value of 15 minutes applies. Note: The minimum value you can select is 15 minutes. If you try to set this setting to a value less than 15 minutes the default value of 15 minutes is applied.
Remove Properties from the Recycle Bin context menu
Removes the Properties option from the Recycle Bin context menu. If you enable this setting the Properties option will not be present when the user right-clicks on Recycle Bin or opens Recycle Bin and then clicks File. Likewise Alt-Enter does nothing when Recycle Bin is selected. If you disable or do not configure this setting the Properties option is displayed as usual.
Remove Recycle Bin icon from desktop
Removes most occurrences of the Recycle Bin icon. This setting removes the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop from File Explorer from programs that use the File Explorer windows and from the standard Open dialog box. This setting does not prevent the user from using other methods to gain access to the contents of the Recycle Bin folder. Note: To make changes to this setting effective you must log off and then log back on.
Remove Computer icon on the desktop
This setting hides Computer from the desktop and from the new Start menu. It also hides links to Computer in the Web view of all Explorer windows and it hides Computer in the Explorer folder tree pane. If the user navigates into Computer via the “Up” button while this setting is enabled they view an empty Computer folder. This setting allows administrators to restrict their users from seeing Computer in the shell namespace allowing them to present their users with a simpler desktop environment. If you enable this setting Computer is hidden on the desktop the new Start menu the Explorer folder tree pane and the Explorer Web views. If the user manages to navigate to Computer the folder will be empty. If you disable this setting Computer is displayed as usual appearing as normal on the desktop Start menu folder tree pane and Web views unless restricted by another setting. If you do not configure this setting the default is to display Computer as usual. Note: In operating systems earlier than Microsoft Windows Vista this policy applies to the My Computer icon. Hiding Computer and its contents does not hide the contents of the child folders of Computer. For example if the users navigate into one of their hard drives they see all of their folders and files there even if this setting is enabled.
Force a specific visual style file or force Windows Classic
This setting allows you to force a specific visual style file by entering the path (location) of the visual style file. This can be a local computer visual style (aero. msstyles) or a file located on a remote server using a UNC path ( -> -> Server -> Share -> aero. msstyles). If you enable this setting the visual style file that you specify will be used. Also a user may not apply a different visual style when changing themes. If you disable or do not configure this setting the users can select the visual style that they want to use by changing themes (if the Personalization Control Panel is available). Note: If this setting is enabled and the file is not available at user logon the default visual style is loaded. Note: When running Windows XP you can select the Luna visual style by typing %windir% -> resources -> Themes -> Luna -> Luna. msstylesNote: To select the Windows Classic visual style leave the box blank beside “Path to Visual Style:” and enable this setting. When running Windows 8 or Windows RT you cannot apply the Windows Classic visual style.
Prevent changing visual style for windows and buttons
Prevents users or applications from changing the visual style of the windows and buttons displayed on their screens. When enabled on Windows XP this setting disables the “Windows and buttons” drop-down list on the Appearance tab in Display Properties. When enabled on Windows XP and later systems this setting prevents users and applications from changing the visual style through the command line. Also a user may not apply a different visual style when changing themes.
Prevent changing theme
This setting disables the theme gallery in the Personalization Control Panel. If you enable this setting users cannot change or save a theme. Elements of a theme such as the desktop background color sounds and screen saver can still be changed (unless policies are set to turn them off). If you disable or do not configure this setting there is no effect. Note: If you enable this setting but do not specify a theme using the “load a specific theme” setting the theme defaults to whatever the user previously set or the system default.