Windows Policy Editor

Windows Policy Editor is a feather-light tool designed to help you manage several policies when it comes to Explorer, the network, system and DOS. It doesn't need setup and it's very simple to configure, even by inexperienced users.

Before proceeding any further, you should know that Windows Policy Editor hasn't been updated for a very long time, and it doesn't work on modern Windows editions. It still works on older OS, though, like XP.

Since installation is not necessary, you can drop the executable file in any part of the disk and just click it to launch the app. Another possibility is to save it to a USB flash drive to directly run it on any PC to modify policies. Worth mentioning is that, unlike most installers, it doesn't create additional files on the disk without your approval, so it doesn't leave any objects behind after removing it.

The user-friendly GUI is made of a small window that contains a hierarchical structure with the four types of policies you can administer (Explorer, network, system and DOS), and you can expand any group to weigh your options.

When it comes to Explorer, it's possible to hide the Run and Find menus, folders and taskbars in the Settings menu, the Recent Documents menu, along with all items and drives on the desktop, plus the network and Internet icon. You can clear the Recent Documents menu, disable printer addition and deletion, remove the shutdown command, skip the saving of settings, and deactivate the Details and General pages.

As far as the network is concerned, you can disable the network control panel, identification and access control page, file and print sharing controls, together with file and print sharing.

If you want to administer system policies, you can enable or disable the display system and password control panels, pages for display control background, screensaver, appearance and setting, in addition to pages for configuration, device manager, file system, virtual memory, remote administration, user profiles, and change passwords. Lastly, it's possible to deactivate MS-DOS prompt and app at real mode.

You can make a custom selection and apply changes with one click. Unfortunately, the application doesn't implement an option for restoring the settings to default.

Unsurprisingly, the tool had minimal impact on computer performance in our tests, using low CPU and RAM. It carried out changes rapidly. Too bad that it hasn't been updated for a long time. However, if you're still using old Windows, then you can resort to Windows Policy Editor for managing a wide range of policies.