While both technologies aim to restrict program execution, AppLocker operates in kernel mode while SRP functions in user mode. This fundamental difference impacts performance and security:

// Example of AppLocker rule in PowerShell
New-AppLockerPolicy -RuleType Publisher, Hash, Path -FileType EXE -User Everyone -OutputXML > AppLockerPolicy.xml

SRP allows custom file extensions through registry modifications:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers]
"Extensions"=hex(7):2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,00,00,2e,00,6d,00,73,00,69,00,00,00,00,00

AppLocker's strength lies in its rule conditions:

• Publisher rules (based on digital signatures)
• Path rules (with network path support)
• Hash rules (more reliable than SRP's implementation)

For RDS environments, AppLocker provides better performance through:

1. Rule caching at session startup
2. Parallel rule processing
3. Reduced registry overhead

Creating deny rules for cryptocurrency miners:

<RuleCollection Type="Exe" EnforcementMode="Enabled">
  <FilePublisherRule Id="a9e18c21-ff8f-43cf-b9fc-2346b2f1b27e" Name="Block unapproved miners" Description="" UserOrGroupSid="S-1-1-0" Action="Deny">
    <Conditions>
      <FilePublisherCondition PublisherName="*" ProductName="*" BinaryName="*">
        <BinaryVersionRange LowSection="0.0.0.0" HighSection="*" />
      </FilePublisherCondition>
    </Conditions>
  </FilePublisherRule>
</RuleCollection>

AppLocker's logging integrates with Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), providing detailed execution attempts:

# Query AppLocker logs
Get-WinEvent -LogName "Microsoft-Windows-AppLocker/EXE and DLL" -MaxEvents 50 | 
Where-Object {$_.Id -eq 8002} | 
Select-Object TimeCreated, Message

For organizations transitioning from SRP to AppLocker, Microsoft provides the AppLocker SRP Conversion Tool (AppLockerSRPConverter.exe) which automatically converts:

• Hash rules to AppLocker format
• Path rules with wildcard support
• Zone identifier rules

While both technologies aim to control program execution, AppLocker operates at kernel-mode through the Application Identity service (AppIDSvc), whereas SRP functions in user-mode via the Client Server Runtime Subsystem (csrss.exe). This fundamental difference gives AppLocker these advantages:

// Example PowerShell to check AppLocker status
Get-Service -Name AppIDSvc | Select-Object Status,StartType
Get-AppLockerPolicy -Effective -Xml

AppLocker introduces publisher rules using digital signatures, allowing for more flexible control:

<!-- Sample AppLocker Publisher Rule -->
<RuleCollection Type="Exe" EnforcementMode="Enabled">
  <FilePathRule Id="123" Name="Allow signed by Microsoft" Description="" UserOrGroupSid="S-1-1-0" Action="Allow">
    <Conditions>
      <FilePublisherCondition PublisherName="O=MICROSOFT CORPORATION" ProductName="*" BinaryName="*">
        <BinaryVersionRange LowSection="0.0.0.0" HighSection="*" />
      </FilePublisherCondition>
    </Conditions>
  </FilePathRule>
</RuleCollection>

For terminal servers, consider these deployment patterns:

:: SRP registry path example
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers]
"TransparentEnabled"=dword:00000001
"PolicyScope"=dword:00000001

While AppLocker doesn't natively support custom extensions, you can implement this via complementary techniques:

# PowerShell script to block custom extensions using SRP
$rule = New-Object -ComObject "Scripting.Dictionary"
$rule.Add("Description", "Block .xyz files")
$rule.Add("ItemData", "*.xyz")
$rule.Add("SaferFlags", 0)
$rule.Add("Type", "Hash")

$policy = New-Object -ComObject "WScript.Shell"
$policy.RegWrite("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers\0\Paths\123456", $rule.ItemData, "REG_SZ")

AppLocker provides superior logging through Event ID 8002-8006 in the AppLocker log (%SystemRoot%\System32\Winevt\Logs\Microsoft-Windows-AppLocker%4EXE and DLL.evtx), while SRP logs to Event ID 866 in the Application log.

When transitioning from SRP to AppLocker, use the ConvertFrom-SoftwareRestrictionPolicy cmdlet:

# Converting SRP to AppLocker
$srpPolicy = Get-Content -Path "C:\temp\SRP.inf" -Raw
ConvertFrom-SoftwareRestrictionPolicy -InfData $srpPolicy -AppLockerPolicy | Out-File "C:\temp\AppLocker.xml"