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Folder Permissions - unwanted repairs?

Hello,

Just as VikingLoki recommends in the topic http://itninja.com/question/adobe-reader-6.06, I use setacl for setting permissions on application directories.
Only users in a Global application group may use a specific application.
But now I have some problems with my repackaged msi's.
The situation is as follows (sorry for the long description):

The msi's basically have only two features (One with the HKCU-keys, subfeature with all the files and HKLM-keys).
First time user setting repair must take place using the cached msi only (strict policy here, therefore this feature structure).
We do only machine-based installations, never userbased installs.

Sometimes, when I am logged on with a user account without permissions on some applications, I get a repair of an application I am not entitled to use. The repair comes up when I try to use a function in another application, like Outlook or the Search-function in Windows Explorer. I had a look at it with regmon and discovered that the repair starts just after COM-registration of a dll has been used. (Examples: oleaut32, msinet). All those dll's are in standard Merge Modules, that are added to the msi that gets repaired.

So the problem is that a dll, which is shared by more applications, has information in the inprocserver32 value in the HKCR\CLSID\{GUID}\Inprocserver32 subkey, pointing to a feature of a product that is not accessible for all users. Keypaths of other components in this feature cannot be found because they are in locked-down directoires, and that's why I get the repair.

I solved this problem for some applications by moving the Merge Modules to a separate feature, that does not contain locked-down directories. This works excellent, no unwanted repairs anymore. But this solution has a major drawback: I cannot use advertisements now, because the feature with Merge Modules will not be installed when I use a shortcut that targets to another feature.

It could advertise it if I made the Merge Module feature a parent feature of the application feature, but then what do I have to do with my UserSettings feature?

I just wonder if someone else has encountered the same behaviour on locked-down machines, and of course how you solved it.
Also other experiences with unwanted repairs in locked-down environments will be of interest.

CS

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Answers (1)

Posted by: francist 17 years ago
Senior Yellow Belt
0
Yes, we've experienced similar problems on machines where shared COM components are 'advertised' and the logged on User does not have rights to all installed applications (on a Citrix server for example). There are 2 solutions:-

1) Don't advertise COM components (might be difficult to achieve as some merge modules have this built in)
2) Give the built in Group 'Everyone' List Folder/Read Data permissions (but not execute) in all your packages

We've gone for option 2, but are considering also removing COM advertising as it causes more trouble than it's worth
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