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Appendix L: Wizards in Windows Server 2008 Related to Connecting to the Internet

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

In This Appendix

Connect to the Internet Wizard

Add Network Location Wizard

Connect to the Internet Wizard

The Connect to the Internet Wizard simplifies the process of connecting an individual computer running Windows Server 2008 to the Internet. Through the Connect to the Internet Wizard, you can specify the name of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) along with information that the ISP provides, such as a telephone number, user name, and password.

There are a variety of ways to start the Connect to the Internet Wizard, including:

  • Start any program that requires an Internet connection when no Internet connection has yet been configured. An example of such a program is Internet Explorer.

  • Open Network and Sharing Center, click Set Up a Connection or Network, click Connect to the Internet, and then click Next. Network and Sharing Center can be opened in a variety of ways, including through Control Panel.

  • Open Internet Options, and on the Connections tab, click the Setup button. Internet Options can be opened in a variety of ways, including through Internet Explorer (Tools menu) and through Control Panel\Network and Internet\Internet Options. You can use Group Policy to make this button unavailable.

Making the Setup Button (in Internet Options) Unavailable

You can make the Setup button (on the Connections tab in Internet Options, as described in the previous list) unavailable. To make the Setup button unavailable, in Group Policy, in User Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer, find the Group Policy setting, Disable Internet Connection Wizard. Enable this setting. Note that this policy makes the Setup button unavailable, but does not prevent the Connect to the Internet Wizard from running.

Add Network Location Wizard

With the Add Network Location wizard, you can sign up for a service that offers online storage space. You can use this space to store, organize, and share documents and pictures using only a Web browser and Internet connection. You can also create shortcuts to a Web site, an FTP site, or other network location.

Note that for a Web-based shortcut to be created through the Add Network Location Wizard, the Web server specified in the shortcut must support the Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol and Internet Information Services (IIS). Applications on the computer, for example, word processing or spreadsheet software, can provide support for network places, in which case the Web server specified in the shortcut will also work if it supports the Web Extender Client (WEC) protocol and Microsoft FrontPage® Server Extensions. In any case, you must also have read and write access to the Web server.

For more information about WEC and WebDAV protocols, see “About Web Folder Behaviors” on the MSDN Web site at:

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=29223

There are multiple ways to start the Add Network Location Wizard. One way is to open Windows Explorer, right-click Network, click Map Network Drive, and then click Connect to a Web site that you can use to store your documents and pictures.

Using Group Policy to Control the Add Network Location Wizard

To block access to the Add Network Location Wizard from the Map Network Drive command, you can configure the Remove "Map Network Drive" and "Disconnect Network Drive" Group Policy setting. This setting is located in User Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer. If you enable this policy setting, the system removes access to the Map Network Drive and Disconnect Network Drive commands that were available, for example, by opening Windows Explorer and right-clicking Network. However, this policy setting does not prevent you from starting the Add Network Location Wizard by opening Explorer, right-clicking Computer, and clicking Add a Network Location. The policy setting also does not prevent you from connecting to another computer by typing the name of a shared folder in Explorer or Internet Explorer.