Gpo

GPO stands for several different concepts, but it is most commonly used in information technology to refer to Group Policy Object. A Group Policy Object is a collection of policy settings in Microsoft Windows that control the working environment of users and computers within an Active Directory domain. Administrators create GPOs to implement security settings, software deployment, startup and logon scripts, folder redirection, and many other configurations across large numbers of machines. GPOs are created and managed with the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) or, on individual machines, the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc). They are linked to Active Directory containers such as sites, domains, or organizational units (OUs), and inherit or override according to policy precedence.

A GPO contains two configuration areas: Computer Configuration and User Configuration. Settings can be scoped with WMI filters, and ADMX-based Administrative Templates define the available policy options. Policy processing follows a defined order (Local, Site, Domain, OU), with higher-precedence GPOs overriding lower ones for conflicting settings; Enforce and Block Inheritance modify this behavior. The Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) tool helps administrators plan and troubleshoot.

Outside IT, GPO most commonly stands for the United States Government Publishing Office, the federal agency responsible for producing and distributing official publications, including statutes, regulations, and other documents. It has also been used historically as General Post Office in some countries.