220-1102 Operating Systems Practice Question
A technician needs to deploy a custom logon banner that displays a legal notice before users log on to Windows 10 computers in a domain. Where should the technician configure this setting?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Local Security Policy with Group Policy, assuming that a domain setting can be applied locally, or they incorrectly think Registry edits are a viable centralized solution, when in fact Group Policy is the only scalable and correct method for domain-wide logon banner deployment.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Group Policy Management Console for the domain
In a domain environment, the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) allows administrators to centrally configure and deploy a custom logon banner to all Windows 10 computers via a Group Policy Object (GPO) linked to the domain or an organizational unit (OU). The relevant setting is located under Computer Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options, specifically the 'Interactive logon: Message text for users attempting to log on' and 'Interactive logon: Message title for users attempting to log on' policies. This ensures consistent enforcement across the domain without requiring manual configuration on each workstation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Local Security Policy on each workstation
Why it's wrong here
Local Security Policy (secpol.msc) can indeed set the 'Interactive logon: Message text for users' value for a single machine, but it only modifies that computer's local policy. In a domain environment, each workstation would have to be visited and configured manually, and a domain-level Group Policy would override the local setting, so the effort is not robust or scalable. It offers no central visibility or enforcement across the organization.
- ✓
Group Policy Management Console for the domain
Why this is correct
Configuring a domain-wide logon banner is done via Group Policy under Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options. Using GPMC applies it to all computers in the domain.
- ✗
Registry Editor on each system
Why it's wrong here
Registry Editor can directly set LegalNoticeCaption and LegalNoticeText under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System, which is how the banner is ultimately stored. However, doing this per system not only requires physical or remote access to every computer, but also risks registry corruption or typos, and any local registry policy values will be overwritten when domain GPO settings refresh. It is an unmanaged, error-prone workaround rather than a maintainable enterprise solution.
- ✗
Active Directory Users and Computers user properties
Why it's wrong here
Active Directory Users and Computers is a directory-management console for objects like users, groups, and computers; its user properties contain items such as logon hours, account options, and profile paths, not computer-level security settings. A pre-logon legal notice is a Computer Configuration policy that must exist on the workstation before any user authenticates, so an AD user property cannot affect the login screen. Additionally, user-based settings only apply after a user has been authenticated, making them incapable of satisfying a pre-logon banner requirement.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Workgroup vs Domain Join
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
Key term
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft that combines the familiarity of Windows 7 with the modern features of Windows 8, designed to run on a wide range of devices from desktops to tablets.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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