Apologies if this is a really simple question...
We have a .NET application that is installed by an administrator, and then run by multiple staff on the same computer with their own login credentials (normal user - non-admin).
Application uses MSI installer and is installed to Program Files folder.
The application needs to have some settings about attached devices to the computer saved as preferences so when a user opens the app these settings are set and the user is not asked for preferences each time. These preferences should not be set per user, rather per computer.
However if user A changes one of these settings on the computer, then when user B logs in they should see the changed setting from user A.
Hence the settings need to be per computer, not per user.
Where in windows 7,8,10 etc. can an application save data that is computer specific not user specific, yet allow users without admin rights to change that data?
We have looked at system temp folder but the computers have GPO policy to regularly remove temp folder content.
Any other ideas?
It takes administrator rights to change the permissions on a registry key inside HKLM, but once that's done, anyone in the group given permission can make modifications.
Obviously don't change permissions on any of the standard keys (e.g. HKLM\Software or HKLM\Classes) but in your own application area (HKLM\Software\YouCorp\YouApp\Attached Devices) it's perfectly fine to adjust permissions the way you like.
You'll just have to include "grant write permission on HKLM\Software\YouCorp\YouApp\Attached Devices to the group Users" as one of the actions of your installer.
If you are allergic to the registry, you can do the same with a subdirectory of your application install (e.g. %ProgramFiles%\YouCorp\YouApp\Device Settings)
Given you are using a .Net application, you could store the information in the app.config file associated with the application.
Related
Can someone tell me how (in Windows 7 PRO) I can create a folder, so when I try to open it, User Account Control will ask for a Administrator's password. I need to restrict a folder on the C: drive, only be opened by administrators, and if a normal user tries to open it, he will need the Administrator's password.
You could go to Control Panel, then you go to User Account and Family Safety. Then go to Parental Control and unable it, or get your user off the list. After that, you should be able to do it.
(AT LEAST IT WORKS FOR ME!)
I need to create an NSIS installer, which runs with administrator privileges. I request these privileges with
RequestExecutionLevel admin
So far this works. But I also need to place shortcut links on the users desktop. I do NOT want to create the shortcuts for all users but only for the currently logged in user. So I use
SetShellVarContext current
in the installer sections. If the current user has admin privileges, this works. If I have a normal user, Windows (7) asks for credentials for a privileged user, which is also correct. But the installer then creates the icons on the privileged users desktop, and not on current users.
So, how can I tell NSIS, that it should create desktop icons for the current user if she has no admin privileges?
FYI, if I omit both RequestExecutionLevel and SetShellVarContext, I am also prompted for administrative rights but the installer creates icons on the current user desktop as well as for the admin user. I think this is some kind of compatibility behavior.
You are not really supposed to do this (because of this exact issue) and you are basically asking how to create a installer that is broken by design. This is not a NSIS specific problem and not even UAC specific, it has existed since runas was added in Win2000! When you elevate with runas/UAC the new process is executed as that user and with their HKCU and shell folders...
If you need "RequestExecutionLevel admin" in your script then you are doing machine level things and should therefore call "SetShellVarContext all" and install the files in $ProgramFiles and write the uninstall registration under HKLM. This is true for any version of NT, not just Vista+/UAC. (Most people forget to test as non-admin on NT4 and NT5)
If creating shortcuts for all users is such a big problem then I suggest you enable the "Don't create shortcuts" checkbox on the startmenu page so the user can decide.
If you still want to force broken behavior then you need to use this plugin. (You should be able to find plenty of topics about this plugin on the NSIS forum)
I have an addin program that works with MS Word (version 2007). It is located in the C:\Program Files location. I installed Windows 7 and then went to make a routine change to my files in this location and it would only bring up a read only file. How can I grant myself permission to write to my own program? I cannot change this location or use any other workaround. I have this product out to 25 different companies and I can't change the programming to work from any other location. Thanks
You could also embed a manifest in your EXE that makes your program require adminrights on Windows 7 / Vista.
On Windows Vista, UAC means that users run without admin rights and don't have write access to the program files directories.
The correct solution is to write to a folder for which standard users do have write permissions.
The solution you are looking for is to make your app's folder within program files writeable to all users. You can do this by adding a DACL when installing. It is extremely bad practice to allow standard users to write inside the program files directory and I urge you instead to re-code your app so that it does not need to write there.
Assuming you're doing this as part of modifying the config (and not when your application is running for regular users)...
Your user account probably doesn't have the correct permissions to write/modify the file. Assuming your account is an administrator account, right-click the file, select "Properties". Click the "Security" tab. Click edit and give your user account Full Control.
If you can't do this, it's probably because the ownership of the file doesn't allow you. If this is the case, click on "Advanced", go to the "Owner" tab, and click "Edit".
However, if it needs these permissions when it's running, you should instead be using the %AppData% folder.
I installed my application in Windows 7 and as part of the installation, it installs some text files. Now, if I open the text file in notepad and try to save it, I get an "Access denied" error. I'm logged in as administrator on the machine and the file is not marked read only and security permissions seem to be fine.
However, I could delete or rename the file without any problem and I could create a new file with the same name/location using notepad and the save works fine.
I understand it has something to do with UAC. I'm wondering what UAC does in order to block access to the file. Our application is not installed in Program files folder as I believe UAC restrict any changes to files in Program Files folder
Can anyone throw light on what is going on.
regards
G
With UAC, just because you're logged in as a user with administrator privileges does not mean a program actually runs with them. The program has to either request privilege elevation (which gives the "Do you want to allow this program to _____" UAC pop-up) or explicitly be run as administrator (right-click on the program/shortcut and choose Run as Administrator).
By default most areas of the drive outside of the standard "user files" (a.k.a. My Documents & co.) are restricted to administrator-only access, but the folder permissions can be changed to add access for a particular user if desired.
You will find that saving files almost anywhere except the "my documents" area for the user will be restricted, this includes saving to other drives on the system etc.
If you check the permissions for the directory you are trying to write to, all you have to do is expressely give the user permission. Otherwise only the admins have permission, which requires UAC approval from the user to get the admin token.
You normally get "Access Denied" error when the file is in use. UAC could not be an issue here. Check out if the file is in use by anyother process.
You can use tools like Process Explorer from sysinternals to do that.
You have to right click the file and select properties. THen open the security tab and you can see different accounts with differet privelages. Click USERS and it should highlight. The box under it should have a bunch of check marks that indicate what this user can do. Click Full Control. Apply and Okay. Then you can save!!!
i am using Vista . I designed MSi file through Visual Studio 2008 Setup and deployment project in which I added one custom action. In the custom action, I am opening OpenFile dialog. This Open File dialog is not showing mapped drive or network locations. so how can i make the open file dialog to mapthe network drives.
This is a known problem with Vista User Account Control. When your installation program is started, the non-admin session of the user is elevated to an admin session. The problem is: Network drives mapped in the non-admin session of the user do not automatically carry over to the admin session.
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about it. (You can start an elevated command prompt prior to starting your setup project and manually net use the drive letters there, but I guess that's not something you can expect your customers to do.)
Related question: Preserve mapped drive letter information during UAC elevation