Creating the Secure Managed Desktop: Using Group Policy, SoftGrid, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and Other Management Tools

2.3. Mandatory Profiles

Mandatory Profiles enable the administrator to assign a single user or multiple users the same, unchanging user experience regardless of where they log on and no matter what they do. In non-mumbo-jumbo terms, Mandatory Profiles ensure that users can't screw things up. When you use Mandatory Profiles to lock down your users, you guarantee that the Desktop, the files in the profile, and the Registry continue to look exactly as they did when they were set up.

Mandatory Profiles are great when you have a pesky user who keeps messing with the Desktop or when you have general populations of users—such as call centers, nurse's stations, or library kiosks—on whom you want to maintain security.

Once the Mandatory Profile is set ...