Group Policy Template file for Windows 10 Wi-FI Sense

Wi-FI Sense is a new feature in Windows 10 that automatically connects you to suggested open hotspots or networks shared by your skype or outlook.com contacts or facebook friends. Sounds like a nice feature, but I’m sure Enterprise Security won’t be to keen about it.

Microsoft has published a KB – How to configure Wi-Fi Sense on Windows 10 in an enterprise that describes the registry settings to configure for disabling Wi-FI sense. The recently publsihed Security Compliance Baseline for Windows 10 “ DRAFT”  now also provides a custom Group Policy template for Wi-FI Sense.

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Wi-Fi Sense automatically connects you to Wi-Fi so you can get online quickly in more places. It can connect you to open Wi-Fi hotspots that it knows about through crowdsourcing, or to Wi-Fi networks that your contacts have shared with you by using Wi-Fi Sense.

Wi-Fi Sense can also discover your device location even when location is turned off for your user account. This is true whenever Wi-Fi Sense is turned on. Wi-Fi Sense uses your location to find suggested open Wi-Fi hotspots.
     
You need to be signed in with your Microsoft account to use Wi Fi Sense.

If this setting is Enabled, Wi-Fi Sense will be disabled and result in the disabling of all related features of Wi-Fi Sense to include connecting automatically to open hotspots, connect automatically to networks shared by my contacts, and allow users to share networks with their contacts.

If this setting is Disabled or Not Configured, Wi-Fi Sense will function as described above.

Note: This registry setting is not stored in a policy key and thus is considered a preference.  Therefore, if the Group Policy Object that implements this setting is ever removed, this registry setting will remain.
     

The “DRAFT Baseline for Windows 10 can be downloaded from here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/secguide/archive/2015/10/08/security-baseline-for-windows-10-draft.aspx

 

Additional Information:

Wi‑Fi Sense FAQ

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