windows-itpro-docs/windows/security/threat-protection/microsoft-defender-atp/configure-endpoints-gp.md

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Onboard Windows 10 machines using Group Policy to Microsoft Defender ATP	Use Group Policy to deploy the configuration package on Windows 10 machines so that they are onboarded to the service.	configure machines using group policy, machine management, configure Windows ATP machines, onboard Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection machines, group policy	eADQiWindows 10XVcnh	met150	w10	deploy	library	security	macapara	mjcaparas	medium	dansimp	ITPro	M365-security-compliance	article	04/24/2018

Onboard Windows 10 machines using Group Policy

Applies to:

• Group Policy

• Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Microsoft Defender ATP)

Want to experience Microsoft Defender ATP? Sign up for a free trial.

Note

To use Group Policy (GP) updates to deploy the package, you must be on Windows Server 2008 R2 or later.

For Windows Server 2019, you may need to replace NT AUTHORITY\Well-Known-System-Account with NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM of the XML file that the Group Policy preference creates.

Onboard machines using Group Policy

1. Open the GP configuration package .zip file (WindowsDefenderATPOnboardingPackage.zip) that you downloaded from the service onboarding wizard. You can also get the package from Microsoft Defender Security Center:

   a. In the navigation pane, select Settings > Onboarding.

   b. Select Windows 10 as the operating system.

   c. In the Deployment method field, select Group policy.

   d. Click Download package and save the .zip file.

2. Extract the contents of the .zip file to a shared, read-only location that can be accessed by the machine. You should have a folder called OptionalParamsPolicy and the file WindowsDefenderATPOnboardingScript.cmd.

3. Open the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), right-click the Group Policy Object (GPO) you want to configure and click Edit.

4. In the Group Policy Management Editor, go to Computer configuration, then Preferences, and then Control panel settings.

5. Right-click Scheduled tasks, point to New, and then click Immediate Task (At least Windows 7).

6. In the Task window that opens, go to the General tab. Under Security options click Change User or Group and type SYSTEM and then click Check Names then OK. NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM appears as the user account the task will run as.

7. Select Run whether user is logged on or not and check the Run with highest privileges check box.

8. Go to the Actions tab and click New... Ensure that Start a program is selected in the Action field. Enter the file name and location of the shared WindowsDefenderATPOnboardingScript.cmd file.

9. Click OK and close any open GPMC windows.

Tip

After onboarding the machine, you can choose to run a detection test to verify that the machine is properly onboarded to the service. For more information, see Run a detection test on a newly onboarded Microsoft Defender ATP machine.

Additional Microsoft Defender ATP configuration settings

For each machine, you can state whether samples can be collected from the machine when a request is made through Microsoft Defender Security Center to submit a file for deep analysis.

You can use Group Policy (GP) to configure settings, such as settings for the sample sharing used in the deep analysis feature.

Configure sample collection settings

1. On your GP management machine, copy the following files from the configuration package:

   a. Copy AtpConfiguration.admx into C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions

   b. Copy AtpConfiguration.adml into C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en-US

2. Open the Group Policy Management Console, right-click the GPO you want to configure and click Edit.

3. In the Group Policy Management Editor, go to Computer configuration.

4. Click Policies, then Administrative templates.

5. Click Windows components and then Windows Defender ATP.

6. Choose to enable or disable sample sharing from your machines.

Note

If you don't set a value, the default value is to enable sample collection.

Offboard machines using Group Policy

For security reasons, the package used to Offboard machines will expire 30 days after the date it was downloaded. Expired offboarding packages sent to a machine will be rejected. When downloading an offboarding package you will be notified of the packages expiry date and it will also be included in the package name.

Note

Onboarding and offboarding policies must not be deployed on the same machine at the same time, otherwise this will cause unpredictable collisions.

1. Get the offboarding package from Microsoft Defender Security Center:

   a. In the navigation pane, select Settings > Offboarding.

   b. Select Windows 10 as the operating system.

   c. In the Deployment method field, select Group policy.

   d. Click Download package and save the .zip file.

2. Extract the contents of the .zip file to a shared, read-only location that can be accessed by the machine. You should have a file named WindowsDefenderATPOffboardingScript_valid_until_YYYY-MM-DD.cmd.

3. Open the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), right-click the Group Policy Object (GPO) you want to configure and click Edit.

4. In the Group Policy Management Editor, go to Computer configuration, then Preferences, and then Control panel settings.

5. Right-click Scheduled tasks, point to New, and then click Immediate task.

6. In the Task window that opens, go to the General tab. Choose the local SYSTEM user account (BUILTIN\SYSTEM) under Security options.

7. Select Run whether user is logged on or not and check the Run with highest privileges check-box.

8. Go to the Actions tab and click New.... Ensure that Start a program is selected in the Action field. Enter the file name and location of the shared WindowsDefenderATPOffboardingScript_valid_until_YYYY-MM-DD.cmd file.

9. Click OK and close any open GPMC windows.

Important

Offboarding causes the machine to stop sending sensor data to the portal but data from the machine, including reference to any alerts it has had will be retained for up to 6 months.

Monitor machine configuration

With Group Policy there isn’t an option to monitor deployment of policies on the machines. Monitoring can be done directly on the portal, or by using the different deployment tools.

Monitor machines using the portal

1. Go to Microsoft Defender Security Center.
2. Click Machines list.
3. Verify that machines are appearing.

Note

It can take several days for machines to start showing on the Machines list. This includes the time it takes for the policies to be distributed to the machine, the time it takes before the user logs on, and the time it takes for the endpoint to start reporting.

Related topics

• Onboard Windows 10 machines using System Center Configuration Manager
• Onboard Windows 10 machines using Mobile Device Management tools
• Onboard Windows 10 machines using a local script
• Onboard non-persistent virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) machines
• Run a detection test on a newly onboarded Microsoft Defender ATP machines
• Troubleshoot Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection onboarding issues