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Appendix J: Wizards in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Related to Connecting to the Internet

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

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® 7 or Windows Server® 2008 R2 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 the following:

  • In the Welcome Center that appears after Windows 7 is installed, double-click Connect to the Internet.

  • 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 new connection or network, click Connect to the Internet, and then click Next. (The 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 (in the Tools menu) and through Control Panel\Network and Internet\Internet Options.

Making the Setup button in Internet Options unavailable

If you want to prevent users from adding Internet connections, you can make the Setup button (on the Connections tab in Internet Options) unavailable. To make the Setup button unavailable, you can use the Group Policy setting Disable Internet Connection Wizard. You can find this setting in the Group Policy snap-in in User Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer. From there you can locate and configure the setting Disable Internet Connection Wizard setting.

Note

This Group Policy setting makes the Setup button unavailable, but it 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 by using a Web browser and Internet connection. You can also create shortcuts to a Web site, an FTP site, or other network location.

Note

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 this case, the Web server specified in the shortcut will work if it supports the Web Extender Client (WEC) protocol and Microsoft® FrontPage® Server Extensions. You must also have read and write access to the Web server.

For more information, see About Web Folder Behaviors on the Microsoft Web site.

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

If you want to prevent users from adding a network location, you can 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 Group 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 Windows Explorer, right-clicking Computer, and then 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 Windows Explorer or your Web browser.