25 Windows policies to avoid setting, as told by Microsoft

What you need to know

• Not all Windows policies have a place in the current Windows 11 and 10 landscape.
• Microsoft has now elaborated on 25 that you should avoid setting.
• Microsoft's breakdown also includes details such as why you shouldn't set certain policies and what their effects are.

Windows is ever-changing, ever-evolving, and ever-obsoleting its old utilities. Such is the case for 25 Windows policies that used to be cool but are now on Microsoft's naughty list.

Over at the Windows IT Pro blog, aptly named for its content that won't make sense to most people but is certainly useful for IT pros and associated techies, Microsoft's Aria Carley has penned a writeup of 25 Windows policies you shouldn't bother setting.

"The Windows update policy set contains policies that no longer have any impact; that don't work as described on devices running Windows 10, version 20H2 or later; or that work but not as well as the policies that were added to accomplish a similar experience in a much better way," the post reads, before diving into the nitty-gritty of which policies you can pass on.

The post also notes that Windows 11 has a dedicated subfolder that clarifies what policies are legacy to help you figure out what's worth your time (and what isn't). You can see the full roundup of policies over at the hyperlinked Windows blog post above. Or, alternatively, take a look at Twitter, wherein Carley has shared a concise breakdown of a few policies worth paying attention to. However, the formal blog post goes into much greater detail and names additional policies (via BleepingComputer).

And in non-policy news, keep an eye on recent Windows updates and changes from Microsoft; the company's cleaning up a ton of bugs including a notorious Outlook Search issue.