Hey everyone! I have a client who sent over 100 Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in HTML format, with one file for each GPO. They want a report that includes the names of these GPOs, their policy settings, and what each one does, ideally in an Excel file. I remember using the Policy Analyzer tool before, but it only works with XML files and not these HTML ones. Since time is tight, I'm looking for any tools or scripts that can help me process these HTML files. Any suggestions? Thanks a bunch!
5 Answers
Honestly, just tell them to go figure it out themselves! But I get that salaries are important too, so maybe just try to keep it professional.
If you have client access to their server, you could use PowerShell commands like `Get-GPO` or `Get-GPOReport` to generate reports directly from there. But if that’s off the table, then you're limited with just the HTML files.
Unfortunately, we weren't granted server access, so we're stuck with the HTML files.
Have you thought about using a large language model (LLM)? Tools like Claude are really good for analyzing text, and they might help you pull out the info you need from those HTML files!
I tried it out, and it worked perfectly for what I needed! Yours was the most efficient suggestion. Thanks a lot!
Using HTML files is like running OCR on a printed document and retyping it manually. If possible, try to get the XML reports; it’ll save you a lot of headaches.
You're right, but it looks like the LLMs ended up working fine for us.
You could ask your client to export the actual GPOs and then use the GPO Comparison Tool included in Microsoft Security Baselines. This might be the easiest route if they can help out!
Haha, I get that! But, you know, I prefer to keep my job.