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Remote installation and activation of Josys Browser Extension on Windows using Active Directory (1/2)

Updated

To associate each user (employee) with the browser extension, you must write values that identify the organization and user to the Windows registry.

The Organization Key is a fixed value unique to your organization. However, the value used to identify a user varies by user and must be configured according to your Active Directory environment.

The most common configurations are described below. Select the appropriate method for your Active Directory environment, or use another suitable method.

You can configure the registry under Computer Configuration (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE). However, this article assumes that you use User Configuration (HKEY_CURRENT_USER).

1. Add the Organization Key to the registry

Step 1: Navigate to one of the following locations:

  • Recommended: User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry
  • If there are no shared PCs, or shared PCs are used with a common ID: Computer Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry

Step 2: Right-click in the menu and select New > Registry Item.

Step 3: In the New Registry Properties window, enter the following values:

  • Hive: Keep the applicable default value.
    • For User Configuration: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
    • For Computer Configuration: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
  • Key Path:

    • Google Chrome:

      SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\moaklgcgokbgplldonjkoochhlefkbjf\policy

    • Microsoft Edge:

      SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\3rdparty\extensions\hjifncajikcdkhlofdjjlhcjoennmdfc\policy
  • Value name: OrganizationKey
  • Value data: Paste the Organization Key obtained from the Josys Admin Portal.

2. Identify the user

Select one of the following methods according to your Active Directory environment.

Method A: Store an Active Directory email address in a user variable and write that email address to the registry

If an Active Directory user attribute contains the user’s email address, such as the mail attribute, you can retrieve it with an LDAP query and store it in an environment variable.

Step 1: Navigate to Preferences > Environment. Select New > Environment Variable.

Step 2: On the General tab, configure the following:

  • Action: Update
  • Select User Variable.
  • Name: EMAIL
  • Value: %_EMAIL%

Step 3: On the Common tab, select the following options, and then click Targeting:

  • Run in logged-on user’s security context
  • Item-level targeting

Step 4: From New Item in the upper-left corner, select LDAP Query.

Step 5: Configure the following values:

  • Filter: (&(objectClass=user)(sAMAccountName=%USERNAME%))
  • Binding: LDAP:
  • Attribute: mail
    • This example assumes that the user’s email address is stored in the mail attribute. You can use another attribute, such as UserPrincipalName, if appropriate for your environment.
  • Environment variable name: _EMAIL

Step 6: The Active Directory attribute is now stored as an environment variable for the user.

After applying the GPO, sign in to a target device as a target user and run the following command in PowerShell to confirm that the email address is set in the environment variable:

echo $env:EMAIL

Step 7: In the GPO settings, navigate to Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry. Select New > Registry Item.

Step 8: On the General tab, configure the following:

  • Action: Update
  • Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
  • Key Path:

    • Google Chrome:

      Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\moaklgcgokbgplldonjkoochhlefkbjf\policy

    • Microsoft Edge:

      Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\3rdparty\extensions\hjifncajikcdkhlofdjjlhcjoennmdfc\policy
  • Value name: UserEmail
  • Value data: %EMAIL%
    • This references the environment variable created in the previous steps.

Step 9: Click Apply, and then click OK to close the window. The configuration is complete.

Continue to 3. Apply the GPO.

Method B: Write USERNAME + @ + domain to the registry

Step 1: In the GPO settings, navigate to Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry. Select New > Registry Item.

Step 2: On the General tab, configure the following:

  • Action: Update
  • Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
  • Key Path:

    • Google Chrome:

      Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\moaklgcgokbgplldonjkoochhlefkbjf\policy

    • Microsoft Edge:

      Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\3rdparty\extensions\hjifncajikcdkhlofdjjlhcjoennmdfc\policy
  • Value name: UserEmail
  • Value data: %USERNAME%@testcorp.com
    • Replace testcorp.com with your organization’s email domain.

Step 3: Click Apply, and then click OK to close the window. The configuration is complete.

Continue to 3. Apply the GPO.

Method C: Write USERNAME(COMPUTERNAME) to the registry

Step 1: In the Josys user profile for each employee, register the same value that you will write to the registry as the Device Identity as Associated Identities. For example, use USERNAME or COMPUTERNAME

Step 2: In the GPO settings, navigate to Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry. Select New > Registry Item.

Step 3: On the General tab, configure the following:

  • Action: Update
  • Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
  • Key Path:

    • Google Chrome:

      Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\moaklgcgokbgplldonjkoochhlefkbjf\policy

    • Microsoft Edge:

      Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\3rdparty\extensions\hjifncajikcdkhlofdjjlhcjoennmdfc\policy
  • Value name: DeviceIdentity
  • Value data:
    • To use the computer/device name: %COMPUTERNAME%
    • To use the user name: %USERNAME%

Step 4: Click Apply, and then click OK to close the window. The configuration is complete.

Continue to 3. Apply the GPO.

3. Apply the GPO

Step 1: Apply the newly created policy to your network.

Note: For the initial test, we recommend targeting a limited group of devices or users instead of applying the policy to the entire domain.

Step 2: Return to the Group Policy Management console. Right-click the domain or organizational unit (OU) to which you want to apply the policy, and select Link an Existing GPO.

Note: If you configured the policy under Computer Configuration, the target domain or OU must contain the applicable computer objects. If you configured it under User Configuration, it must contain the applicable user objects.

Step 3: Select the group policy you created and click OK.

After the policy has been distributed, continue to the silent-installation process:

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