Describes the best practices, location, values, policy management and security considerations for the System settings: Use certificate rules on Windows executables for Software Restriction Policies security policy setting.
This policy setting determines whether digital certificates are processed when software restriction policies are enabled and a user or process attempts to run software with an .exe file name extension. This security setting enables or disables certificate rules (which are a type of software restriction policy). With a software restriction policy, you can create a certificate rule that allows or disallows Microsoft Authenticode®-signed software to run, based on the digital certificate that is associated with the software. For certificate rules to work in software restriction policies, you must enable this security setting.
Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options
The following table lists the actual and effective default values for this policy. Default values are also listed on the policy’s property page.
| Server type or GPO | Default value |
|---|---|
| Default Domain Policy | Not defined |
| Default Domain Controller Policy | Not defined |
| Stand-Alone Server Default Settings | Disabled |
| DC Effective Default Settings | Disabled |
| Member Server Effective Default Settings | Disabled |
| Client Computer Effective Default Settings | Disabled |
This section describes features and tools that are available to help you manage this policy.
None. Changes to this policy become effective without a device restart when they're saved locally or distributed through Group Policy.
This section describes how an attacker might exploit a feature or its configuration, how to implement the countermeasure, and the possible negative consequences of countermeasure implementation.
Without the use of software restriction policies, users and device might be exposed to unauthorized software that could include malware.
Enable the System settings: Use certificate rules on Windows executables for Software Restriction Policies setting.
If you enable certificate rules, software restriction policies check a certificate revocation list (CRL) to verify that the software's certificate and signature are valid. This checking process may negatively affect performance when signed programs start. To disable this feature, you can edit the software restriction policies in the appropriate GPO. In the Trusted Publishers Properties dialog box, clear the Publisher and Timestamp check boxes.