Group Policy editor for commonly used group policy control items in Windows 10

The following  tool can help Group Policy editor for commonly used group policy control items in Windows 10 .

Please refer GitHub URL : https://github.com/velanr1980/GroupPolicyEditor1

The GPO objects covered are as follows :

1. Enable/Disable Firewall (Domain profile) - HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile
2. Enable/Disable Firewall (Standard profile) - HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\StandardProfile
3. Group Policy refresh interval - HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System -Name GroupPolicyRefreshTime
4. Group Policy refresh time offset - HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System -Name GroupPolicyRefreshTimeOffset
5. No Autorun option enable/disable - HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoAutoRun
6. Disable Cortana in Windows 10 Searches (Only applicable for Windows 10 Home, Professional & Enterprise)
7. Disable Windows Store (Only applicable for Windows 10 Professional & Enterprise)
8. Screen saver activation, with password, and timeout setting
   

Please also find Powershell script equivalent of this program in the Github repository (file name : group_policy_win10_v2.ps1).
This Powershell script covers same features/GPO objects as the CLI EXE program in the GitHub repository, and can also be used for group policy objects changes.
License and copyright applicable.

Note :
a) This was tested in Windows 10 Professional Edition environment , and should work on Windows 10 Enterprise Edition (and WIndows 2016) as well.
b) This program will NOT work for Windows 8.1, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows XP.
c) It is designed for local GPO of Windows 10 (local profile), and NOT for domain level GPO objects.
d) This CLI EXE program is designed to edit registry settings, so please run it in adiministrator mode.


I did not include a USAGE manual , as it is easy & straight forward to use.

How to disable Outlook attachment preview feature

One of the main ways malware spreads these days is via Office documents and macros. Some malware are known to utilise bugs in Adobe Flash and macros, and use Office documents to invoke those bugs and cause infection.

The attachment preview feature in Microsoft Outlook can also expose the user to malware, by unknowingly running preview of the malware Office attachment, and cause the malware infection to start.

Fortunately , the attachment preview feature can be disabled in Outlook.

I have created a simple console tool (C# EXE file) to help change this setting in registry.
I have also provided below the registry setting that needs to be changed to disable it.

Or, you can simply go to the Outlook settings to disable it:
i) In Outlook , go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings, and then select Attachment Handling.
ii) To turn off all attachment previewers, click Turn off Attachment Preview and click OK.

This tool helps enable / disable email attachment preview function in Microsoft Outlook.
It is useful as it can help eliminate malware execution by attachment preview of malware infected Office documents/macro via unpatched Office/Adobe Flash bugs.

Please note the following :
a) The registry script & C# tool below works on Microsoft Outlook 2016, 2013 & 2010 only. It does not work on Microsoft Outlook 365.
b) The C# tool below works on Windows 7 & Windows 10 PCs, and should be "run as administrator".
c) It requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or above.


Registry setting to disable Outlook attachment preview :

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\preferences]
"disableattachmentpreviewing"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\15.0\outlook\preferences]
"disableattachmentpreviewing"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\14.0\outlook\preferences]
"disableattachmentpreviewing"=dword:00000001


You can download the C# tool here:
File name : Outlook_disable_attachment_preview.exe
MD5 checksum value :761716ed7ab1bebb197aa5f84a0625e7