Get Smarter

You can use Intune to manage and deploy apps from the Microsoft Store to your managed devices. These include default store apps as well as apps that you upload to your Microsoft Store for Business or Education. While it has always been relatively easy to deploy apps in this manner, Intune just made it even easier.

To deploy Microsoft Store apps in Intune you go to Apps > All apps > Add and select the desired App type. In this example, I will select “Microsoft Store app (legacy)” to demonstrate the former way of configuring app deployment. This gets you to the following screen:

Here you need some required app details such as Name, Description, Publisher and Appstore URL. So how do you find the publisher and Appstore URL?

Let’s say I want to deploy Python 3.11 to a team of developers or student group.  To find the Appstore URL I will go to the Microsoft Store and search for Python as shown below where I will choose Python 3.11.

As you can see below, the app category is listed in the top left-hand corner. In the bottom right I will click the link for “Endpoint Manager” to get the Appstore URL.

Then simply copy the link as shown in the screenshot below.

I then paste the URL into the App Information page. Then assign the app to the designated groups and complete the creation wizard.

Now let’s add it again but this time I will choose “Microsoft Store app (new)” as the App type. That will bring me to the wizard screen once again as is shown below. Now in App information you need only click the Search hyperlink. I did a search for “Python” and selected Python 3.11.

You will then paste the URL into the App Information page. Then assign the app to the designated groups and complete the creation wizard.

Now let’s add it again but this time I will choose “Microsoft Store app (new)” as the App type. That will bring me to the wizard screen once again as is shown below. Now in App information you need only click the Search hyperlink. I did a search for “Python” and selected Python 3.11.

There is no need to surf the store itself or copy/paste links anymore. Again, finish out the creation wizard by assigning the app to your designated groups and you are done.

Some users will always try to get around the Windows setting restrictions you implement using Intune or Group Policy. A few will even attempt to reset their device. Denying standard users local admin rights is one way to prevent them from doing so using Recovery settings. That doesn’t prevent them from resetting their device using the Advanced Startup menu, however. There are several ways to access the Advanced Startup menu such as pressing the F8 key as the computer is booting up. From there you navigate to Troubleshoot > Reset this PC and make select the desired options such as “Keep my files” or choosing to remove everything. Besides the reset option, the Advanced Startup Menu gives users access to System Restore, Startup Repair, Command Prompt, and a few other things.

Fortunately, Intune provides a way to keep standard users out of this area. In Intune go to Devices > Configuration profiles > Create profile and select Windows 10 and later as the platform and Settings catalog as the profile type. Name the profile and go to Configuration Settings. Using the Settings picker do a search for “recovery” and choose the Security category and select both available options as shown in the screenshot below.

• Recovery Environment Authentication
• Recovery Environment Authentication (User)

Then assign the profile to your desired group(s) and wait for the profile to be delivered. Now when a user accesses the Advanced Startup Menu to do something such as resetting their device, they will be prompted to select a local admin account as shown in the picture below. In this case I am choosing the Tech Admin account.

The user is then prompted for the credentials of that account as shown here.

Unless the correct credentials are typed in, further access to the advanced startup options is not available.

We know the vulnerabilities of passwords today. User accounts are constantly under siege by credential stuffing attacks and malicious code and tools like key loggers that aim to capture passwords as users type them in. That’s why it is essential to support password authentication with some type of multifactor authentication such as a text messaging, authenticator apps or FIDO keys.

For Windows 10 and Windows 11, there are alternative sign-in methods available. For instance, biometric logons might be a good choice for those users that have laptops with built-in fingerprint sensors. Picture passwords may appeal to some organizations as an alternative. The Windows picture password sign-in requires a user to duplicate several gestures on a selected picture. Then again, those organizations that want to enforce standard desktop for all users may not want this option to be available. For users that always log onto the same computer, a PIN may be lucrative as a PIN is local to a specific device so a compromised pin is only good for its assigned device.

The point of this blog is just to show you how to enable/disable these alternatives using Group Policy or Intune. Let’s start with picture passwords. If you want to disable this option using Group Policy, create a GPO and go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon and enable “Turn off picture password sign-in” as shown below. The PIN setting is in the same location. In the screenshot below, I have disabled both options.

You use the same Administrative Template path in for Intune as well. Create a configuration profile and select Windows 10 and later as the platform and Templates > Administrative templates as the profile. Then navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > and enable Turn off picture password sign-in as shown in the screenshot below. Once again, the PIN setting is there as well.

For fingerprint scanning or other biometric authentication options, create a GPO and go to Computer Configuration > Windows Components > Biometrics and select “Allow the use of biometrics” and “Allow users to log on using biometrics.” In the screenshot below I have enabled both of these.

To manage biometric settings using Intune, create a configuration profile and select Windows 10 and later as the platform and Templates > Identity protection as shown below.

After naming the profile, go an enable “Configure Windows Hello for Business. This will then provide access to all of its category settings. Then select, “Allow biometric authentication” with the result looking like the screenshot below.

Nearby Sharing is a feature in Windows 10 and Windows 11 that allows you to transfer documents, pictures, and links to other compatible devices that are near each other using a combination of Bluetooth and wireless communication. It’s a great feature that fosters collaboration between team members. Maybe. So indeed, there are some instances in which you don’t want to allow this feature such as an educational environment where students are taking an online exam for instance. We will look at a couple of ways to disable this feature.

Nearby Sharing is found under Shared experiences in your system settings as shown below.

To manage Nearby Sharing using Group Policy, create a GPO and go to Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > System\Group Policy > and disable “Continue experiences on this device” as shown in the screenshot below. When disabled, Windows device will not be discoverable by other devices and cannot participate in cross-device experiences.

If you want to use Intune, create a configuration profile, and select Windows 10 and later as the platform and choose Templates > Administrative templates as the profile. Then follow the same template path - Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > System\Group Policy > and disable “Continue experiences on this device” as shown below.

Users will no longer be able to transfer files amongst each other on their enterprise devices.