What's new in GCPW

Fixes

• GCPW is no longer being enforced unnecessarily in certain scenarios
• Fixed verbose logging issues

New feature

• Security improvements

New feature

• GCPW now reports which third-party apps are installed on devices. For details, see View computer & smart home device details.
  This feature is available with Cloud Identity Premium edition. Compare editions 

Fixes

• Users can now sign in through GCPW with cached credentials when the domain controller can't be contacted.
• GCPW now supports sign-in when the list of allowed domains exceeds 1024 characters.

New features

• If you installed GCPW from a file downloaded from https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gcpw/, you can now use your Google Admin console to configure GCPW settings, such as auto-update and offline access, without setting the token on each device. Previously, you had to add an organization-specific token to each device's registry settings for GCPW settings in the Admin console to apply. Note: To manage permitted domains from the Admin console, devices must have the token.

• For devices connected to the internet, device details are now synced to the Admin console periodically (every 3 hours), instead of only when the user signs in.

Fixes

• GCPW more reliably reports the inventory of Windows 32-bit apps on a device.
• If you set up Chrome Browser Cloud Management (CBCM) enrollment tokens on devices, you no longer need to set GCPW-specific enrollment tokens, too, to manage GCPW from the Admin console. The CBCM token allows GCPW policies from the Admin console to sync. Previously, if your organization set CBCM tokens, those tokens prevented your permitted domain settings from syncing to devices. 
• As of May 10, 2021, Chrome Browser version 90.0.4430.212 consistently loads the GCPW sign in screen. Previously, under rare conditions, a blank screen opened instead.

New features

• GCPW settings can now be set in your Google Admin console instead of device registry settings. For settings to apply, the device needs an organization-specific token. If you already installed GCPW on a device, you can add the token by installing the latest version of GCPW or manually adding the token to the registry settings. Learn more
• The GCPW client is now available for download in your Admin console. The client includes your organization-specific token that lets devices sync your GCPW settings in the Admin console. Learn more
• You can block automatic updates of GCPW past a specific version. This setting lets you take advantage of the ease of automatic updates while letting you test the latest version before you allow it on all your devices. Learn more

Note: The rollout of these features in Admin console may take up to 6 weeks due to holidays.

Fix

• The account picture now displays when a user signs in. This fix corrects a recent issue with getting the user's account picture from the server.

Fix

• The GCPW sign-in dialog no longer disappears if the user takes more than 30 seconds to enter their username and password.

New feature

• When GCPW creates a Windows account when a GCPW user first signs in, you can now use a new registry setting to control how the Windows account name is set. By default, the Windows account name is the username and domain parts of the user's email address, separated by an underscore. For example, if a user's Google email address is [email protected], the Windows account name is liz_example. When the new registry key use_shorter_account_name is enabled, GCPW sets the Windows account name as only the username part of the email address. Instead of liz_example, the Windows account name is liz. Learn more

Fixes

• Improved performance when users sign in again.
• Fixed how new local profile names are generated so that Windows doesn't reject them.
• Changing passwords in Windows settings (Ctrl+Alt+Delete) is now unsupported when a Google Account is associated with an existing Windows profile. Previously, this option was only unsupported for new Windows profiles. This fix prevents users from changing their Windows password, which can cause problems with GCPW's password synchronization service.
• When you associate Google Accounts with existing local Windows profiles, the Local Windows accounts custom attribute now supports the same special characters as Windows instead of only alphanumeric characters.

• Improved the single sign-on experience for Chrome Browser on Windows devices with slower internet connections.

• Standalone GCPW now reports the device's operating system version number in the Devices list. Previously, the operating system version was available only when both GCPW and Windows device management were set up on a device

Fixes

• Changed the error message that's returned when GCPW enforces restrictions on sign-ins through other credential providers to better describe the issue and enable quicker troubleshooting.

New features

• GCPW now always enforces restrictions on sign-ins through other credential providers to enforce your organization's Google sign-in security controls. When Google sign-in is required, attempts to sign in using other credential providers return a time restriction error.

  Previously, this security feature was available only when both GCPW and Windows device management were set up on a device. Now it's available when you set up GCPW alone.

Fixes

• GCPW now blocks user sign in if the HKLM\Software\Google\GCPW\domains_allowed_to_login registry entry isn't configured by the IT admin.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the Google login screen closed after 60 seconds, even if the user was active on the screen. The login screen now stays open if the user is active on the screen.

New features

• You can associate a Google Account with an existing local or Active Directory Windows profile. Previously, GCPW always created a new Windows profile when the user signed in to their device for the first time after GCPW installation. This update ensures that users with an existing Windows profile can continue to access to their data on the device. Learn more
• GCPW can be used in "standalone mode." In this mode, the device isn't enrolled in Windows device management, which is useful if you use another Windows management system. Users with any type of Google Workspace or Cloud Identity license can use GCPW in standalone mode. Learn more
• When signing in to their device for the first time using GCPW, all users need to agree to the user consent. 
• GCPW now appears in the Windows Add or remove programs tool.
• You can use a GCPW registry key to specify the number of days after which a user who is using their device offline needs to sign in to their device online with their Google Account. Learn more

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where Chrome extensions that run by default caused pop-up windows to appear in the Windows login screen.

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