On 7/27/2010 3:08 AM, Chris Cason wrote:

> POV-Ray is installed into the users profile folder. This is as far as I
> could tell the best solution for a non-privileged user on Vista. And
> insofar as suggesting the install could be missed, that is nonsense. When
> POV is installed via a MSI, the software is registered with the Windows
> Installer DB. This applies no matter where the EXE ends up on the hard disk.
>

I can't recall... does the installer offer the choice between "Install 
for all users" and "Install for just me"?

What the installer is doing is correct for the "Just for the current 
user" case. It does not make software changes to the system as a whole 
and does nothing to affect other accounts. This is correct behavior, and 
allows the program to be used without the need for escalated privileges.

> If the machine admin doesn't want any software installed and hasn't locked
> down installs completely, then he's got more to worry about than POV. We
> use MSI-based installs rather than a setup.exe, meaning that anyone with
> control over group policy can easily restrict exactly what Windows
> installer does or doesn't allow. Programs that don't use windows installer
> can bypass this. Put simply, if a user can put a EXE on the system, they
> can install software, and it's not our problem to deal with this. We
> provide the means for admins to audit installs by using Windows Installer,
> and that's about the most we can do.

We have controls like this where I work, and in my experience that is 
exactly what happens. It doesn't matter how, but an admin will be 
notified as soon as someone adds software. Regardless of where it is added.

-- 
~Mike

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