Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights
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I've seen a lot of programs like that require admin rights, or all things like UAC turned off.
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You are correct, it seems there are way too many of these types of software which want admin rights for a user to utilize the software. However, I do believe that is correct to require admin rights to install it.
At my firm we follow the principle of least privilege. It is a pain, but a layer of our security model. Many of these common Accounting/Tax applications privilege issues must be debugged to run in a limited user account. I have used Systinternals Process Monitor to help find directories or registry keys for the offending software to allow the limited user access to those objects. Usually the problem can be sorted out this way, however, back in the XP days, I remember some software would just refuse to work unless using an admin account, then I would have to implement a “run as” link.
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Admin rights are not required for simple installations. At least on standard Windows and Linux systems.
Let's talk about Windows: What is a "normal" installation? The installer will copy some files and create a shortcut in the start menu and maybe another one on the desktop / task bar. End of story. You can easily do this without any administrative privileges if you respect a single thing: Don't write to a place where the user does not have access too. Remember those installers who ask you if you want to install a program "Just for me" or "All users"? In most cases, "Just for me" writes to a users %AppData% folder.
Administrative rights come into play when you want to write to locations like HKLM, %ProgramFiles%, %AllUsers% etc. The same idea applies to virtually any *NIX.
I guess your 1099 / w2 is something like our ELSTER, a form where you enter your data which then get's submitted to your tax office. What could possibly require administrative rights here? I can't think of any case where this might be a software requirement, not as administrator and not as developer.
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@gjacobse said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
So it would seem that I have to violate proper security practices, and company policy to install software for End of year tax software to run 1099 and w2 forms.
How great is that.
Yep.. I had to do this for Sage Business Works.
Had to give the user local admin for around 20 mins while they installed updates, then log them out and remove them.
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@jaredbusch said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
Installing software almost always requires admin rights.
Nothing abnormal there.
In my case, running as Admin didn't work. The user themselves had to be admin - it's crap software.
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@thwr said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
I guess your 1099 / w2 is something like our ELSTER, a form where you enter your data which then get's submitted to your tax office. What could possibly require administrative rights here? I can't think of any case where this might be a software requirement, not as administrator and not as developer.
If the update is changing a file they don't have write permissions on. Say the file is read only for users.
But that's not Gene's issue, he can't even run the software as a non admin.
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@dashrender said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@thwr said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
I guess your 1099 / w2 is something like our ELSTER, a form where you enter your data which then get's submitted to your tax office. What could possibly require administrative rights here? I can't think of any case where this might be a software requirement, not as administrator and not as developer.
If the update is changing a file they don't have write permissions on. Say the file is read only for users.
But that's not Gene's issue, he can't even run the software as a non admin.
It should then be installed in a proper way - to a location where the user has access to. If that's not possible you could still grant the user write access to that specific location (for example %ProgramFiles%\SomeApp\SomeFolder)
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@thwr said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@dashrender said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@thwr said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
I guess your 1099 / w2 is something like our ELSTER, a form where you enter your data which then get's submitted to your tax office. What could possibly require administrative rights here? I can't think of any case where this might be a software requirement, not as administrator and not as developer.
If the update is changing a file they don't have write permissions on. Say the file is read only for users.
But that's not Gene's issue, he can't even run the software as a non admin.
It should then be installed in a proper way - to a location where the user has access to. If that's not possible you could still grant the user write access to that specific location (for example %ProgramFiles%\SomeApp\SomeFolder)
My point was that the file would always be read only - only an admin should be able to update it... but again, we're in the weeds, because that's not the issue Gene is having.
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@gjacobse said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
Installing maybe... But it's need to run the software
I saw that all the time with crappy proprietary video surveillance software. You had to have admin rights to run it. Ridiculous!
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@penguinwrangler said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@gjacobse said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
Installing maybe... But it's need to run the software
I saw that all the time with crappy proprietary video surveillance software. You had to have admin rights to run it. Ridiculous!
Is there any surveillance software that isn't crappy? Ever one of them I have seen is just junk.
As far as this thread, I'm in the same boat... Software written back in the early 90's that is STILL the leading software in the veterinary industry requires local admin to run it.
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@ccwtech said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
en back in the early 90's that is STILL the leading software in the veterinary industry requires local admin to run it.
Unifi DVR is not junk
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@ccwtech said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@penguinwrangler said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@gjacobse said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
Installing maybe... But it's need to run the software
I saw that all the time with crappy proprietary video surveillance software. You had to have admin rights to run it. Ridiculous!
Is there any surveillance software that isn't crappy? Ever one of them I have seen is just junk.
As far as this thread, I'm in the same boat... Software written back in the early 90's that is STILL the leading software in the veterinary industry requires local admin to run it.
Usually this is just a matter of needing admin access to a few folders and files. Not the entire system.
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@dustinb3403 said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@ccwtech said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@penguinwrangler said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
@gjacobse said in Tax software requires User to have Admin Rights:
Installing maybe... But it's need to run the software
I saw that all the time with crappy proprietary video surveillance software. You had to have admin rights to run it. Ridiculous!
Is there any surveillance software that isn't crappy? Ever one of them I have seen is just junk.
As far as this thread, I'm in the same boat... Software written back in the early 90's that is STILL the leading software in the veterinary industry requires local admin to run it.
Usually this is just a matter of needing admin access to a few folders and files. Not the entire system.
That's what I said.
