Removing Users From Local Administrators Group using GPO
End users who are members of a Windows local administrators group will have excessive amount of privileges such as the ability to install and run programs, reset passwords, disable users, change access permissions to file servers and more. This can lead to exploitation of privileges, which is a primary method attackers use to spread and gain control of systems inside an organization.
This is why it is crucial for administrators to monitor, manage, and cleanup this group’s membership across all Windows endpoints. Here's how you can can manage your local Administrators group to provide complete security.
Using GPO to Remove Domain User Accounts
Launching Group Policy
Right click on the Computer OU and then Create a GPO in this domain, and link it.
Provide a name for the GPO and click OK.
Right click on the newly created GPO and select Edit.
Navigate to Computer Configuration and click on Preferences.
Click on Control Panel Settings and select Local Users and Groups.
Right-click in the right side window and select New, and then click on Local Group.
Update the following setting and then click OK.
Action: Update
Group Name: Administrators (built-in)
Delete All member users (Checked)
Delete all member groups (Checked)
This will remove all local users and groups from the Local Administrators group. You can then proceed by adding the built-in administrator account and domain admins groups to this local administrator group.