FAQ Group Policy

Group Policy Auditor Frequently Asked Questions

The following Frequently Asked Questions provide a great source to quickly get the answers you need regarding the GPA. If you don't find the answer you're looking for please contact us.

What systems can this be applied to?
What Group Policy Objects are discovered?
How is RSoP displayed in Operations Manager?
What is Policy Baselining?
Can we see the actual attribute values that are changed in a GPO?
What types of Reports are included out-of-box?
Are Microsoft Server Application specific modules available?
Can I alert and report on discrepancies between GPO settings?
How can I test in my Lab and do a PoC (Proof of Concept) before finalizing purchase decisions?
Does this provide historical auditing?
What systems can this be applied to?

Designed for RSoP compliant systems, Windows Server 2003 and higher.

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What Group Policy Objects are discovered?
  • Account Lockout Policy
  • Audit Policy
  • Event Log Policy
  • File System ACLs
  • Kerberos Policy
  • Password Policy
  • Registry Keys
  • Security Options
  • System Services
  • User Rights Assignments

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How is RSoP displayed in Operations Manager?

Each discovered system has the Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) displayed in the Operators console State Views. Each policy is discovered as a unique class and displays the last discovered set, refreshed daily by default.

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What is Policy Baselining?

By taking a snapshot of a given servers Group Policy configuration it can then be compared with other like systems to determine baseline compliance and identify settings not configured to defined standards. This can be used in GPO cleanup projects and to assist with assessing the overall compliance and health of your Group Policy settings.

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Can we see the actual attribute values that are changed in a GPO?

The Group Policy Auditor tracks both the existing and new attribute values as they are changed along with the associated version, user and source of the change.

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What types of reports are included out-of-box ?

Please see the GPA Report page.

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Are Microsoft Application specific modules available?

We plan to release modules for primary Windows Server applications like Exchange, Sharepoint and others in the future.

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Can I alert and report on discrepancies with GPO settings?

Yes, when target systems are discovered it automatically starts Change Tracking of settings, you can then choose what scenarios that you want to alert on down to the exact settings if you choose.  If you leverage the baseline feature you can also alert on when settings deviate from a given standard, both of these provide ability for comprehensive alerting and reporting.

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How can I test in my Lab and do a PoC (Proof of Concept) before finalizing purchase decisions?

POC testing can be arranged through Secure Vantage Technologies or our partners, please contact us for more information.

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Does this provide historical auditing?

Yes, all GPO security setting changes are captured via events for historical auditing.

News & Events

Press Release 07/08/08: Secure Vantage Technologies and Infront Consulting join forces to offer free training and education series for the Audit Collection Service


Press Release 05/21/2008: Secure Vantage Technologies partners to create a Security Management Partner Solutions bundle for System Center customers


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