This blog is intended for Administrators of Duet Landscape and for users who are running Vista. It will briefly outline installation and uninstallation procedures on Vista.
For customers who have installed a version of Microsoft Windows earlier than Microsoft Windows Vista on their computers, the majority of user accounts are configured as a member of the local administrator's group, because administrator privileges are required to install, update, and run many software applications without conflicts and to perform typical system-level tasks. Even the simplest operation, such as clicking the taskbar clock to view a calendar, requires administrator privileges.
Granting end-users administrative privileges makes individual computers and networks vulnerable to malware and increases total cost of ownership because users can make unapproved system changes. Malware can exploit the system-level privileges provided to the local administrator—damaging files, changing system configurations, and even transmitting confidential data outside the network. Unfortunately, deploying computers in a locked-down state by requiring users to operate in standard user mode severely limits user productivity. Without local administrative rights, many applications will not function properly, because they are designed to write to system locations during normal operation.
Windows Vista & User Account Control: Delivering a More Secure Desktop
The main goal of User Account Control is to reduce the exposure and attack surface of the operating system by requiring that all users run in standard user mode. This limitation minimizes the ability for users to make changes that could destabilize their computers or inadvertently expose the network to viruses through undetected malware that has infected their computer. With User Account Control, IT administrators can run most applications, components and processes with a limited privilege, but have "elevation potential" for specific administrative tasks and application functions.
Conversely, when users encounters a system task that requires administrator privileges, such as attempting to install an application, Windows Vista will notify the user and require administrator authorization. This type of prompting helps ensure that users do not accidentally make modifications to their desktops. It also helps eliminate the ability for malware to invoke administrator privileges without a user's knowledge.
If a user wishes to run a program that requires administrator permissions, they must give consent through a User Account Control prompt. This helps limit malware's ability to make system-wide changes without the administrator's knowledge. However, Administrator Approval Mode does not provide the same level of security or control as a true standard user account. More information on UAC can be found here. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905113.aspx
1. Installation of Duet on Vista
Installing Duet 1.5 on Vista will require Administrative Privileges. Its not enough to be logged on a administrator. Its also required be run with elevated privileges. The admin has to launch the setup.exe in a command window with admin privileges from the language folder for the language in which he wishes to install. For example to install German duet, on the DVD the Administrator should change folder to
\Microsoft\Duet Client\German and launch the setup.exe
2. Using Duet Tools on Vista
Some features on the duet setting manager tool will require administration privileges, like changing the parameters like MDS URL, MD refresh check interval, and cache size. These feature are intended for administrators only, hence they require elevation.
3. Duet Client Pre-requisites - If Duet Administrator will be installing the pre-requisites himself/herself (The other option is to allow the setup to install )
a. SQL Express SP2
b. .NET 2.0
Duet Client was built on .NET 2.0 and hence .NET 2.0 is a requirement for Duet. Even though Windows Vista comes pre-installed with .NET 3.0, Duet installation wizard will fail if NET 2.0 is missing,
4. Uninstalling Duet 1.5 from Windows Vista
When an Administrator wishes to uninstall Duet from a Windows Vista, he/she should open a command line with elevated privileges and run the setup.exe and select the remove option Or the user can click on setup.exe, setup.exe will ask privileges or administrator can remove from Add/Remove Program.
Ramakrishnan Nagasamy. Duet PM.
