Search-related group policies

After you install Windows Search 4.0, you have access to a wide variety of group policies for controlling and managing searches. (The template is SEARCH.ADMX for Vista and Server 2008 and SEARCH.ADM for XP.) Windows Search 3.x only used computer policies, but version 4 supports both computer and user policies for considerable additional flexibility in deploying search customizations and/or restrictions.

The actual policy settings are under Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search, in both the user policies and computer policies halves of the Group Policy Object Editor. There are quite a few settings, allowing admins to do things like set the default intranet search location; set default search paths; set prohibited search paths; control whether the indexing service automatically reduces its processor load when user activity is detected; control searching of the Web; specify the index location; control "federated" (remote query) searches, etc. You can even forbid the indexing of specific file types (such as, oh, I don't know, MP3's....).

For full details on controlling Windows Search 4.0 with Group Policy, see the TechNet file named "Group Policy for Windows Search" in the Windows Client TechCenter.

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