Appendix C: Group Policy Settings Listed Under the Internet Communication Management Category in Windows Server 2008

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

In This Appendix

Overview of Group Policy Settings Listed Under the Internet Communication Management Category

Controlling Multiple Policy Settings Through the Restrict Internet Communications Setting

Policy Settings that Affect Computer Configuration

Policy Settings that Affect User Configuration

Overview of Group Policy Settings Listed Under the Internet Communication Management Category

Windows Server 2008 contains a variety of Group Policy settings that can help you control the way that operating system features communicate across the Internet. Some of these policy settings can be found in Group Policy under the category named Internet Communication Management. This category can be seen within the Group Policy Management Console. Internet Communication Management is located in two places:

• In Computer Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\System

• In User Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\System

This appendix describes the policy settings under the Internet Communication Management category. It also describes the way in which one policy setting, Restrict Internet communication, controls multiple other policy settings. (Restrict Internet communication is located in Internet Communication Management.)

Individual policy settings under Internet Communication Management for specific features are described in this appendix, appropriate sections of this white paper, and in the Explain text in the policy settings. Many other Group Policy settings (beyond the ones described in this appendix) are also described in appropriate sections of this white paper.

For information about using the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), see Appendix B: Resources for Learning About Group Policy for Windows Server 2008.

Controlling Multiple Policy Settings Through the Restrict Internet Communications Setting

There are multiple ways to configure the Group Policy settings under Internet Communication Management in Windows Server 2008. You can configure policy settings individually, which means you could configure, for example, Turn off Event Viewer "Events.asp" links differently from Turn off Windows Error Reporting. Alternatively, the policy setting called Restrict Internet communication allows you to enable or disable the entire collection of policy settings at one time.

If you want to enable or disable Restrict Internet communication and then create exceptions to this master policy setting by configuring individual policy settings in the Internet Communication Management key, you must use two Group Policy objects (GPOs).

To do this, ensure that you understand how processing and precedence works for multiple GPOs (for example, see Help for the GPMC). Choose or create a GPO with a lower precedence than another GPO. In the GPO with lower precedence, enable or disable Restrict Internet communication. Then, in the GPO that has precedence over it, apply the individual policy settings that are exceptions to the master policy setting. If you do not use two GPOs when setting both Restrict Internet communication and individual policy settings that are exceptions to the master policy setting, the policy settings might not work as expected.

To check the effect of multiple Group Policy settings, you can use Group Policy Results in the GPMC. For more information about precedence, see the topic on Group Policy processing and precedence on the Microsoft TechNet Web site at:

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=72164

Policy Settings that Affect Computer Configuration

This subsection of the appendix describes the policy settings under Internet Communication Management that fall under the Computer Configuration part of the tree in the Group Policy interface. (The policy settings under User Configuration are described later in this appendix.) For all these policy settings, the following is true:

• The policy settings apply to all users of an affected computer and come into effect when the computer starts or when Group Policy is refreshed.

• Within the structure of Group Policy settings, these policy settings are located in Computer Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\System\Internet Communication Management\Internet Communication settings.

• All of the policy settings can be enabled or disabled in one step by enabling or disabling the master policy setting that controls them, Restrict Internet communication. This policy setting is located in Computer Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\System\Internet Communication Management, and is described in Controlling Multiple Policy Settings Through the Restrict Internet Communications Setting, earlier in this section. The Restrict Internet communication policy setting interacts with all of the policy settings in the following list.

[https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=106147](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=106147)  
  

Individual Policy Settings that Affect Computer Configuration for Windows Server 2008

The following list describes the computer configuration policy settings under Internet Communication Management that are outlined in the previous subsection.

• Turn off handwriting recognition error reporting: Specifies whether users can report errors encountered in the Tablet PC Input Panel. This policy setting is related to another policy setting in this appendix, Turn off Windows Error Reporting. If you turn off Windows Error Reporting, you are also turning off error reporting for handwriting recognition.

  This policy setting is also described in Windows Error Reporting and the Problem Reports and Solutions Feature in Windows Server 2008 in this white paper.

  This policy setting was new for Windows Vista. To apply a policy setting that was new for Windows Vista, you must use the GPMC on a computer running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, as described in Appendix B: Resources for Learning About Group Policy for Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program: Specifies whether to opt users out of Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program. If you enable this policy setting, all users are opted out of Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program.

  This policy setting is also described in Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 in this white paper.

• Turn off Automatic Root Certificates Update: Specifies whether to automatically update root certificates using the list of trusted certification authorities that Microsoft maintains on the Windows Update Web site. If you enable this policy setting, when a user is presented with a certificate issued by an untrusted root authority, the user's computer will not contact the Windows Update Web site.

  This policy setting and the way that root certificate updates work are described in the Certificate Support and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 section in this white paper.

• Turn off printing over HTTP: Specifies whether to allow printing over HTTP from this computer. Note that this policy setting does not control whether the computer can act as an Internet print server.

  This policy setting and other policy settings related to Internet printing are described in the Internet Printing and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 section of this white paper.

• Turn off downloading of print drivers over HTTP: Specifies whether to allow this computer to download print drivers over HTTP when needed.

  This policy setting and other policy settings related to Internet printing are described in the Internet Printing and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 section of this white paper.

• Turn off Windows Update device driver searching: Specifies whether Windows searches Windows Update for device drivers when no local drivers for a device are present.

  This policy setting is described in the Device Manager, Hardware Wizards, and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 section of this white paper.

• Turn off Event Viewer "Events.asp" links: Specifies whether Internet links shown within events in Event Viewer are activated. When such a link is activated and the user clicks it, information that identifies the event is sent to a Microsoft Web site so that explanatory text, if available, can be sent back to the user.

  This policy setting and the information sent and received when an Event Viewer link is clicked are described in the Event Viewer and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 section of this white paper.

• Turn off Help and Support Center "Did you know?" content: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008. For a similar policy setting that affects Windows Server 2008, see Turn off Windows Online (in the User Configuration policy settings, not the Computer Configuration policy settings) later in this section.

• Turn off Help and Support Center Microsoft Knowledge Base search: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008. For a similar policy setting that affects Windows Server 2008, see Turn off Windows Online (in the User Configuration policy settings, not the Computer Configuration policy settings) later in this section.

• Turn off Internet Connection Wizard if URL connection is referring to Microsoft.com: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Registration if URL connection is referring to Microsoft.com: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Windows Network Connectivity Status Indicator active tests: Prevents Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) from performing a network connectivity test that involves attempting to make a connection across the Internet. For more information about NCSI, see Appendix K: Network Connectivity Status Indicator and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Windows Error Reporting: Specifies whether error reports from a system or application that has stopped responding are sent to Microsoft. Error reports are used to improve the quality of the product. This policy setting overrides any user setting made from the Control Panel for error reporting.

  This policy setting and other ways of controlling error reporting through Group Policy are described in the Windows Error Reporting and the Problem Reports and Solutions Feature in Windows Server 2008 section of this white paper.

• Turn off access to all Windows Update features: Specifies whether Windows Update can be used to update the operating system on this computer.

  This policy setting is described in the Windows Update and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 section of this white paper.

• Turn off Search Companion content file updates: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Internet File Association service: Specifies whether to use the Web-based File Association service, or whether to use only locally stored information about file name extensions, file types, and the applications or features to use when opening a particular file type. The file association Web service is used only when a user tries to open a file and there is no locally stored information about the file name extension.

  This policy setting is also described in the File Association Web Service and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2008 section of this white paper.

• Turn off Internet download for Web publishing and online ordering wizards: This policy only has an effect in Windows Server 2008 if the Desktop Experience is installed. For a link to information about the Windows Photo Gallery, which is the feature in the Desktop Experience that this Group Policy setting affects, see Windows Mail, Windows Media Player, and Other Features in the Desktop Experience in Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off the "Order Prints" picture task: This policy only has an effect in Windows Server 2008 if the Desktop Experience is installed. For a link to information about the Windows Photo Gallery, which is the feature in the Desktop Experience that this Group Policy setting affects, see Windows Mail, Windows Media Player, and Other Features in the Desktop Experience in Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off the "Publish to Web" task for files and folders: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off the Windows Messenger Customer Experience Improvement Program: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Windows Movie Maker automatic codec downloads: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Windows Movie Maker online Web links: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

• Turn off Windows Movie Maker saving to online video hosting provider: This policy setting does not affect Windows Server 2008.

Policy Settings that Affect User Configuration

This subsection of the appendix describes the policy settings under Internet Communication Management that fall under the User Configuration part of the tree in the Group Policy Management Editor. (The policy settings under Computer Configuration are described earlier in this appendix.) For all these policy settings, the following is true:

• The policy settings apply to the individual user and come into effect when the user logs on or when Group Policy is refreshed.

• Within the structure of Group Policy settings, these policy settings are located in User Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\System\Internet Communication Management\Internet Communication settings.

• All of the policy settings can be enabled or disabled in one step by enabling or disabling the master policy setting that controls them, Restrict Internet communication. This policy setting is located in User Configuration under Policies (if present), in Administrative Templates\System\Internet Communication Management, and is described in Controlling Multiple Policy Settings Through the Restrict Internet Communications Setting, earlier in this section. The Restrict Internet communication policy setting interacts with all of the policy settings in the following list.

[https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=106147](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=106147)  
  

New Policy Settings that Affect User Configuration in Windows Server 2008

The following list describes the user configuration policy settings under Internet Communication Management that were new for Windows Vista. Additional policy settings are listed in the next subsection, "Existing Policy Settings that Affect User Configuration in Windows Server 2008."

More details about each policy setting are available in the Explain text for the policy setting. To view Explain text, select the policy setting in Group Policy and click the Extended tab, or open the policy setting and click the Explain tab.

• Turn off Help Ratings: Specifies whether, when Online Help is turned on, a user can also enter feedback into a brief form at the bottom of a Help topic, and then send that feedback back to Microsoft.

  This policy setting is also described in Help and Support Features that Communicate Through the Internet in Windows Server 2008 in this white paper.

• Turn off Help Experience Improvement Program: Specifies whether data can be collected about how the user navigates through Help: typing search queries, clicking links to local Help topics, clicking links to information on the Web, and so on. The collected data is sent to Microsoft, where it is used to better understand how to improve navigation for future Help.

  This policy setting is also described in Help and Support Features that Communicate Through the Internet in Windows Server 2008 in this white paper.

• Turn off Windows Online: Specifies whether users can see updated Help topics that Microsoft makes available across the Internet. If you turn off Windows Online, you also turn off Help Ratings and the Help Experience Improvement Program (which are dependent on the Windows Online policy setting).

  This policy setting is also described in Help and Support Features that Communicate Through the Internet in Windows Server 2008 in this white paper.

• Turn off handwriting recognition error reporting: Specifies whether users can report errors encountered in the Tablet PC Input Panel. This policy setting is related to another policy setting, Turn off Windows Error Reporting, which is described in "Individual Policy Settings that Affect Computer Configuration for Windows Server 2008," earlier in this appendix. If you turn off Windows Error Reporting, you are also turning off error reporting for handwriting recognition.

  This policy setting is also described in Windows Error Reporting and the Problem Reports and Solutions Feature in Windows Server 2008 in this white paper.

Existing Policy Settings that Affect User Configuration in Windows Server 2008

The following list represents existing user configuration policy settings under Internet Communication Management that affect Windows Server 2008. For a description of a particular policy setting, find the policy setting under "Individual Policy Settings that Affect Computer Configuration," earlier in this section. Alternatively, you can select the policy setting in Group Policy and click the Extended tab, or open the policy setting and click the Explain tab.

• Turn off printing over HTTP

• Turn off downloading of print drivers over HTTP

• Turn off Internet File Association service

• Turn off Internet download for Web publishing and online ordering wizards (only affects Windows Server 2008 if the Desktop Experience is installed)

• Turn off the "Order Prints" picture task (affects Windows Server 2008 only if the Desktop Experience is installed)

Several other user configuration policy settings are listed under Internet Communication Management, but they do not affect Windows Server 2008.