Group Policy Blog by Darren Mar-Elia (The “GPOGUY”)
Understanding the Role of ADMX Files in Group Policy
For more than two decades, administrators have relied on Group Policy to centrally manage and configure settings across users and computers within their domains. However, this powerful tool wouldn’t be of much use without the ADMX file, which defines and structures...
Intune Suite Expansion and Pricing Changes: A Strategic Inflection Point for IT Leaders
Microsoft recently announced plans to include Intune Suite capabilities in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 licenses. This is really big news that customers have been asking for and about since the Intune Suite was announced a few years ago. It is a statement that the company...
Preventing PowerShell Pitfalls with Active Directory Expiration Dates
There is a reason why many Active Directory admins still use the GUI: it is simple and straightforward. On the other hand, scripts allow us to automate and scale AD tasks, which is also beneficial for admins. A classic example of this duality is working with dates...
New Add-On to GPO Migrator by SDM Software Empowers Tailored Group Policy Migration to Intune
Migrate selected settings, validate Intune support up front, and combine multiple GPOs into a single profile for cleaner policy management Cloud adoption means finding efficient ways to transition long-standing on-premises Group Policy Objects (GPOs) into Microsoft...
Group Policy Change Control FAQ
This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) article covers information about Windows Group Policy Change Control, Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management retirement, and SDM Software's solutions for addressing this challenge. Q: Is there a solution that can completely...
What’s Next If You’re An AGPM User?
Hi everyone. You may have heard by now that Microsoft's venerable Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) tool will reach it's end of life next April 2026. What does this mean? When software reaches the end of life, it generally means that the vendor will no longer...
August Windows Update Breaks Item-level Targeting in GP Preferences
Just a quick one here folks, to let people know about a GP issue I heard about last week, that I've since learned was introduced as part of an August Windows update. The issue is as follows. In GP Preferences, there's an option to filter application of individual...
Managing Windows Services using Group Policy
On Twitter (sorry, I can't bring myself to call it 'X') there was a thread about managing Windows Services using GP. The poster talked about using the setting area under Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\System Services to control...
How Can I Disable Group Policy Processing…Umm…On Purpose?
I have to say that after 25 years of messing around with Group Policy, I am constantly amazed by the new things I still learn about the technology and it's behavior. Especially when those things are substantial and weird. Such was my experience last week when a...
SDM Software Ships Change Manager for Group Policy 1.5–Includes Support for Intune Profile Change Control!
Here at SDM Software, we are committed to making management of your Windows configuration technologies easier and more secure. This is why we released version 1.0 of our Change Manager for Group Policy product last year--to provide a modern, easy-to-use and web-based...