Install Cloud Filter on Windows 10 & 11 using Domain Group Policy Object (GPO)

Summary

In order to protect domain-joined Windows 10 devices, Cloud Filter requires the deployment of a MSI along with a browser extension.

A number of steps need to be taken to ensure the Cloud Filter client is deployed and licensed correctly. The short-hand deployment path is:

  1. Software Installation
  2. Provisioning
  3. Browsers Configuration
  4. Post Deployment Checks

NOTE: Cloud Filter MSI only supports 64-bit versions of Windows.

 

Prerequisites

  • Download the Windows 64bits Unified Client zip from https://software.smoothwall.com
  • Extract it
  • On the AD Domain Controller, create a new GPO where you want to deploy Smoothwall Cloud Filter. This document will refer to this GPO as "the Smoothwall GPO". For a multitenant organization, you can repeat these steps for each tenant/domain.

NOTE: The zip package (smoothwall-unified-client-<version>-windows.zip) contains a msi installer and some provisioning tools (ADMX templates).

 
Note about Anti-viruses
You need to prevent any antivirus that you have from quarantining the Smoothwall client thinking it is  malware. To do this you need to add some exceptions or exclusions to the antivirus software on the student devices. The exception paths are:
  • C:\Program Files\Smoothwall
  • C:\ProgramData\Smoothwall
In some cases, the antivirus might require to put the full path of each program. In that case, the exceptions are:
  • C:\Program Files\Smoothwall\Unified Client\bin\sw-uc-desktop-client.exe
  • C:\Program Files\Smoothwall\Unified Client\bin\sw-uc-browser-bridge.exe

 

Software Installation

Note: this document assumes that Chrome and/or Edge browsers are already force installed on all relevant machines

  1. Copy the Smoothwall MSI file in a network shared folder, for example, \\MACHINE_NAME\Shared_Folder. This is so that the targeted device can access the file.
  2. Attach the Smoothwall MSI file to the Smoothwall GPO, see the Microsoft help topic, Open Group Policy Software Installation.
  3. Assign the MSI application.
  4. Set permissions for the Group Policy Software Installation:
    • Authenticated users:
      • Read
      • Special permissions

Provisioning

NOTE 1: An ADMX template is available as part of the zip package, it consists of the smoothwall.admx and smoothwall.adml files. When adding the ADMX template to a Domain Controller, the default configuration location for the adml file is C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\en-US and the default location for the admx file are C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions.

NOTE 2: If you are a multitenant organization, tenant IDs can be found in the on-premise appliance admin UI. For more details: What's a Tenant ID?

In the Smoothwall GPO, configure the Smoothwall ADMX template as below and leave any other settings as ‘Not Configured’:

Path Name Status Value
Smoothwall/Unified Client Serial Number Enabled Your UNCL serial
Smoothwall/Unified Client Tenant ID Enable = multi-tenanted
Disabled = not multi-tenanted		 If enabled, the tenant GUID

 

Alternative Provisioning Method

If the ADMX template is not an option, the follow Registry values should be deployed using the preferred method. Note that all registry values must be created under the following registry path: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Smoothwall\UnifiedClient\

Name Type Validation Description 
SerialId
 REG_SZ Must be a 16 character string containing only ASCII letters and numbers. UNCL serial 
TenantId
 REG_SZ Must be a standard UUID as displayed in the Filtering admin UI. Tenant ID

For untenanted organizations, this key can be missing or empty.

 

Browsers Configuration

Chrome and Edge require some configuration to force install the Smoothwall extension along with locking them down to ensure safe usage.

Edge

Microsoft Edge ADMX template: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download

In the Smoothwall GPO, configure the Edge ADMX template as below:

Settings Name State Value
Control which extensions are installed silently Enabled dlcaglefdlidioooijnigjhfcndlncfp;https://edge.microsoft.com/extensionwebstorebase/v1/crx
Control where developer tools can be used Enabled Don’t allow using the developer tools
Configure InPrivate mode availability Enabled InPrivate mode disabled
Enable guest mode Disabled N/A
Enable profile creation from the Identity flyout menu or the Settings page Disabled N/A
Enable ending processes in the Browser task manager Disabled N/A
Browser sign-in settings* Enabled Disable browser sign-in

*We recommend that Browser Sign-ins are completely disabled. However if sign-in is needed (for instance to allow bookmark sync), we recommend restricting it to the managed domain. Restricting it to the customer’s domain prevents conflicting policies from being pushed which potentially compromise the filtering protection. The Intune setting for configuring Browser Sign-in allowed domains is called "Restrict which accounts can be used as Microsoft Edge primary accounts"

 

Chrome

Google Chrome ADMX template: https://dl.google.com/dl/edgedl/chrome/policy/policy_templates.zip
For more detailed instructions, visit: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/3115278?hl=en

In the Smoothwall GPO, configure the Google ADMX template as below:

Settings Name Status Value
Configure the list of force-installed apps and extensions Enabled jbldkhfglmgeihlcaeliadhipokhocnm;http://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx
Control where Developer Tools can be used Enabled Disallow usage of the Development Tools
Incognito mode availability Enabled Incognito mode disabled
Enable guest mode in browser Disabled N/A
Enable add person in user manager Disabled N/A
Enable ending processes in Task Manager Disabled N/A
Browser sign in settings* Enabled Disable browser sign-in

*We recommend that Browser Sign-ins are completely disabled. However if sign-in is needed (for instance to allow bookmark sync), we recommend restricting it to the managed domain. Restricting it to the customer’s domain prevents conflicting policies from being pushed which potentially compromise the filtering protection. The Chrome setting for configuring Browser Sign-in allowed domains is called "Restrict which Google accounts are allowed to be set as browser primary accounts in Google Chrome"

 

Post Deployment Checks

  1. Check the deployment using the Client Diagnostics Page, see Running Cloud Filter Diagnostics
  2. Check that your custom policies are being applied, see Checking that Cloud Filter Policies Work (Real-time log viewer)