Change Internet Explorer Connections Settings from Registry

Okay, I seriously thought I already have this post uploaded in this blog, but it turned out I was wrong. I have kept this for a long time, and it helped me a numbers of times already so I reckon it will help others as well.

IE Connections. There are a few settings we can configured in IE Connections Settings such as :

• Automatically detect settings 
• Use automatic configuration script 
• Use a proxy server 
• Bypass proxy server for local addresses 
• Use different proxy servers for different protocols 
• Proxy server exception. 

For this post, I will list registry keys positions for each setting.


Objective : Grey-Out / Not-Grey-Out Automatic Configuration
Location :

• Hive : HKCU
• Key : Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel\
• Value Name : AutoConfig
• Value Type : DWORD

Value Data : 0

Result : Not-Greyed-Out, settings for Automatically detect settings & Use automatic configuration script can be changed.

Value Data : 1

Result : Greyed-Out, settings for Automatically detect settings & Use automatic configuration script cannot be changed

Objective : Checked / Unchecked Automatically detect settings

Location :

• Hive : HKCU
• Key : Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\
• Value Name : AutoDetect
• Value Type : DWORD

Value Data : 0

Result : unchecked

Value Data : 1

Result : checked

Objective : Enable / Disable Use automatic configuration script

Location :

• Hive : HKCU
• Key : Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
• Value Name : AutoConfigURL
• Value Type : REG_SZ

Value Data : <Config URL>

Result : Config URL configured

Objective : Grey-out / un-grey-out Option to use proxy server

Location :

• Hive : HKCU
• Key : Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
• Value Name : ProxyEnable
• Value Type : REG_DWORD

Value Data : 0

Result : option to use a proxy server for your LAN is un-checked, box to put proxy server and port disabled, Advanced box disabled, option to bypass prosxy server disabled

Value Data : 1

Result : option to use a proxy server for your LAN is checked, box to put proxy server and port enabled, Advanced box enabled, option to bypass prosxy server enabled

Objective : Set Proxy Server

Location :

• Hive : HKCU
• Key : Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
• Value Name : ProxyServer
• Value Type : REG_SZ

Value Data : ProxyName:port

Result :

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Suppress Adobe Product Improvement Program Pop-Up by Using Microsoft Group Policy Preference or AppSense Environment Manager

I implemented this a few years back, when I needed to eliminate any unneeded pop-up to my users. In this case, it was for Adobe Reader. Newly created profiles will have this automatically pop-up when they launched Adobe Reader  for the first time.

Adobe Product Improvement Program - Help Improve the Adobe Reader Experience.

The screen also can be triggered by going to Help | Improvement Program Options...

These steps will help to disable the Improvement Program Options menu, and consequently suppress the pop-up. Note that it requires registry editing, so be extremely careful. Note that the steps mentioned are for Adobe Reader 11. If oy used different version, ensure your key path refers to correct version (SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\11.0)

Using GPP : 

1.  Launch GPMC, and go to target GPO.  Edit the policy, and navigate to Computer Configuration | Preference | Windows Settings | Registry, right click at Registry, hover to New and click at Registry Item
   
   
   
   
   
2.  Ensure Hive is changed to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
   
   
   
3. Use below info to fill up the form :
   Key Path : SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\11.0\FeatureLockDown
   Value Name : bUsageMeasurement
   Value Type : REG_DWORD
   Value Data : 0
   Base : Decimal
   
   
   
   
4.  Reboot the target machine. Once it is up, log in to computer, and launch Adobe Reader. No Improvement Program pop-up appeared, and Improvement Program Options... is no longer listed  in Help menu.
   
    

Using AppSense Environment Manager : 

1. Launch AppSense Environment Manager, right click at Process Started | choose Node
   
   
   
   
2.  Change the information for Condition and Match accordingly, then click OK
   Condition : Equal to
   Match : AcroRd32.exe
   
   
   
   
3. At workspace on the right side, right click at the Process condition, and navigate to Conditions | Registry | and choose Registry Value Exists. This step is to check whether the needed value is existed or not.
   
   
   
4. Fill up all needed info by following below information :
   Hive : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
   Key : SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\11.0\FeatureLockDown
   Value Name : bUsageMeasurement
   Value Type : REG_DWORD
   Comparison : Not Equal To
   Value Data : 0
   Base : Decimal
   
   
   
   
5. You may also want to give a bit of description and notes to the setting. Select OK.
   
   
   
   
6.  This is the outcomes, so far.
   
   
   

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