Device Control

Security Policies

Security Policies enables administrators to centrally configure and enforce Windows security settings across managed endpoints.

2 min
September 5, 2026

What You'll Learn

How to create a Security Policy, including its name and configuration level (Computer or User)
How the available Group Policy categories differ by configuration level — Computer offers a single focused set, while User unlocks many categories (Desktop, Internet Explorer, Network, System, Active Desktop, Explorer, Start Menu and Taskbar, Task Scheduler, Windows Installer, Control Panel, and more)
How to set individual policies to Enable, Disable, or leave them at Not Configured
How to deploy a security policy to specific endpoints using a Security Policy Deployment
Where to review deployment progress and drill into per-endpoint task status and execution output

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Configuration Level (Computer vs. User) control?

Configuration Level determines which Group Policy categories and settings are available in the builder. Computer-level policies apply system-wide with a smaller set of settings, while User-level policies apply to the logged-in user's profile and expose a much larger set of categories to configure.

What do Enable, Disable, and Not Configured mean for a policy?

Enable turns that restriction or setting on, Disable turns it off, and Not Configured leaves the endpoint's existing state untouched — the policy simply isn't applied for that item.

What kinds of settings can a Security Policy control?

Depending on the category, settings range from login and access restrictions (e.g. disabling CTRL+ALT+DEL, restricting CD-ROM or floppy access) to browser restrictions, network and LAN permissions, Control Panel visibility, Start Menu and taskbar customization, and Windows Installer behavior.

How do I push a security policy to endpoints?

Creating a policy doesn't deploy it by itself. Under Security Policy Deployments, create a deployment, choose a scope (e.g. specific endpoints), select the endpoints, choose the security policy to apply, and pick a deployment policy that controls the rollout.

Where can I check whether a deployment succeeded?

The Security Policy Deployments list shows each deployment's stage and progress. Opening a deployment shows per-endpoint task status (e.g. Success), and opening a task's output shows a timestamped execution log detailing each policy applied — including the exact registry path changed — along with a summary count of policies applied versus failed.