Adding Google Toolbar for Enterprise

Windows Domain administrators can install and configure Google Toolbar across their entire enterprise. Chapter 31 explains how useful the Google Toolbar is for personal use. Using it as a business tool can give your users quick access to important corporate information and business applications. Installing the Enterprise version allows you to do these things:

• Define Enterprise-wide policies

• Decide which buttons and features users can access

• Create and install custom buttons

Most large enterprises still use Microsoft Internet Explorer as their supported Web browser. Google Toolbar for Enterprise works only with Internet Explorer. Perhaps in the future, more enterprises will adopt Firefox as the supported Web browser.

Cross-Ref 

Chapter 39 has more information about creating custom buttons.

Getting started

Google Toolbar for Enterprise uses Microsoft Group Policy, which is an infrastructure for managing users and computers in an Active Directory environment. Follow these steps to begin using the Google Toolbar for Enterprise:

1. Download the Google Toolbar for Enterprise at www.google.com/tools/toolbar/T4/enterprise/.

2. Click Download Google Toolbar for Enterprise, and save the download to the company domain controller. The download consists of a Zip archive file containing four files: an Admin guide, a Google Toolbar Administrative template, the installer program, and a readme file.

3. Import the administrative template (GoogleToobar.adm) into your Group Policy editor. You will be able to see these categories:

   • Preferences: Set any or all of the preferences. Preferences left unconfigured are set by the user.

   • Enterprise Integration: This determines if you allow the Google Toolbar to auto-update from Google.

   • Custom buttons: Add custom buttons to Google Toolbar; if policy dictates, keep the user from adding custom buttons.

   • Popup Whitelist: Control which sites are allowed to have pop-ups. By default, no pop-ups are allowed.

Now you can create custom toolbar buttons for searching your company’s intranet (local network) or create a link to corporate payroll and benefit systems or to the company policy manual. You also can create buttons to start important intranet applications such as a company Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Creating the buttons is very easy. You create a small XML file and, if you want, a custom button icon. See Chapter 39 for details.

Pushing policy

After you create the policy for the Google Toolbar for Enterprise, you will want to push this policy to the end users. Follow these steps:

1. Create a Group Policy Object (GPO).

2. Edit the GPO in either your Group Policy Management Console or the Active Directory Management Console.

3. Apply the GPO to the entire domain or to specific Organizational Units (OUs).

You can edit and update this policy by changing the GPO and pushing it to the users.

Installation

You can install the actual Google Toolbar on user machines in two ways. For smaller organizations, having the end users themselves install Google Toolbar may be fine. You may even have a support person who goes around to all the machines and installs the toolbar.

The second way, and possibly the only way for a larger enterprise, is to push the application out to the end users using Group Policy Software Installation or using the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, formerly System Management Server (SMS).

Microsoft Group Policy Refresher

Group Policy allows you to manage configurations for many users and groups managed across a computer domain that can possibly include many networks. Group Policy is stored in an object known as a GPO (Group Policy Object). Group Policy Objects exist in a domain that can be linked to sites, domains, and organizational units (OUs), all Active Directory containers. Group Policy Objects are edited in either the Group Policy Management Console or the Active Directory Management Console.

Group Policy objects are broken into two parts: one part exists in the Active Directory while the other part is stored on individual domain controllers in the Sysvol folder. The settings within the Group Policy Objects are then evaluated by the target hosts using the Group Policy engine.