End User Software Management When Running as Normal Users on Windows
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@scottalanmiller said:
Here is an idea, as well. Not great, but should work, right?
Make a script or tool (nothing fancy) that will get admin rights to install software BUT is locked to a specific folder or folders (network ones, presumably.) So you create a universal deployment point and make it universally mountable and read only. Then with this tool, any user is able to run an installer from that location directly, but only that location.
Does not handle middle of the night, ad hoc requests. But it does allow for a continuously growing repository of packages to install that is easily leveraged. And if you do need to do a middle of the night request you only need to get something downloaded to that location, nothing more.
While this might sound simple, I have no idea how you would kick it off? Ultimately I don't see how this could be much different than options 2 and 3. You create a script that uses the RunAs command with saved credentials as @JaredBusch mentioned, that launches a menu of the things in the repo directory that you can choose to install?
I can't think of another way (though I'm not a programmer, I don't even play one on TV) to have local admin rights run a script that a user couldn't tear apart and find the admin password inside that would be a network user that would somehow be limited to only have access to specific folders for the user to pick an installer there at random for them to install.
Not to mention it's really probably to much to ask them to install it anyway, so you'd need to build installer scripts so the users don't have to answer any questions for the install.
And we're right back at options 2 and 3 above.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Here is an idea, as well. Not great, but should work, right?
Make a script or tool (nothing fancy) that will get admin rights to install software BUT is locked to a specific folder or folders (network ones, presumably.) So you create a universal deployment point and make it universally mountable and read only. Then with this tool, any user is able to run an installer from that location directly, but only that location.
Does not handle middle of the night, ad hoc requests. But it does allow for a continuously growing repository of packages to install that is easily leveraged. And if you do need to do a middle of the night request you only need to get something downloaded to that location, nothing more.
While this might sound simple, I have no idea how you would kick it off? Ultimately I don't see how this could be much different than options 2 and 3. You create a script that uses the RunAs command with saved credentials as @JaredBusch mentioned, that launches a menu of the things in the repo directory that you can choose to install?
I can't think of another way (though I'm not a programmer, I don't even play one on TV) to have local admin rights run a script that a user couldn't tear apart and find the admin password inside that would be a network user that would somehow be limited to only have access to specific folders for the user to pick an installer there at random for them to install.
Not to mention it's really probably to much to ask them to install it anyway, so you'd need to build installer scripts so the users don't have to answer any questions for the install.
And we're right back at options 2 and 3 above.
If you use powershell, it saves everything in an encrypted file, IIRC, so the user can't (easily) get at the admin username & Password.
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@Dashrender said:
Not to mention it's really probably to much to ask them to install it anyway, so you'd need to build installer scripts so the users don't have to answer any questions for the install.
IF $ABOVE=="True" THEN $isMoot
Basically, if this statement is true, then the issue is moot because they could not be installing software on their own and need IT anyway.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Not to mention it's really probably to much to ask them to install it anyway, so you'd need to build installer scripts so the users don't have to answer any questions for the install.
IF $ABOVE=="True" THEN $isMoot
Basically, if this statement is true, then the issue is moot because they could not be installing software on their own and need IT anyway.
But that is the point of using a Repo-like install. Install the software, configured the way IT wants it. Then the user just has to click a link on the web site... we KNOW they are good at that, lol.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Not to mention it's really probably to much to ask them to install it anyway, so you'd need to build installer scripts so the users don't have to answer any questions for the install.
IF $ABOVE=="True" THEN $isMoot
Basically, if this statement is true, then the issue is moot because they could not be installing software on their own and need IT anyway.
I'm not sure about your users, but my users would definitely ask on every dialog box - Heck, they call about the EULA for Adobe after an update is installed. I try to remember to launch it before I leave so I accept it and move on.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Not to mention it's really probably to much to ask them to install it anyway, so you'd need to build installer scripts so the users don't have to answer any questions for the install.
IF $ABOVE=="True" THEN $isMoot
Basically, if this statement is true, then the issue is moot because they could not be installing software on their own and need IT anyway.
I'm not sure about your users, but my users would definitely ask on every dialog box - Heck, they call about the EULA for Adobe after an update is installed. I try to remember to launch it before I leave so I accept it and move on.
There's GPOs for that.
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As frequently as they are making updates for Flash, and Reader - I didn't bother digging into what it takes to do upgrades through software pushes.
Sure, there are GPOs for the EULA itself, but if I'm doing the install, it's not that big a deal to get rid of the EULA either.
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@JaredBusch said:
@Mike-Davis said:
@JaredBusch said:
As an outsourced IT Service Provider, we cannot be always available to clients to handle this need in as timely a fashion as needed at times (i.e. the owner says he needs his cat pics screensaver installed now).
The compromise we have come up with is a domain account that is added to the local administrators group in AD.
I'm in the boat and also use group policy to push a local admin account to the machines through group policy. If a machine (esp laptops) decides it doesn't want to log in to the domain, you can just log in with the local account and get it going.
Yeah, we push that LocalAdmin via GPO. It is not manually setup on the machines.
Consider changing this practice. I used to do it that way, too, but it's no longer considered secure and Microsoft won't even allow you to do it anymore in the newer versions of Windows Server in the GPPs.
Account info disseminated this way isn't hard to find, I believe its in the SYSVOL folder somewhere, and once an attacker had it they could laterally jump from machine to machine with ease. This would be especially bad if that policy was applied to more than just workstations.
This doesn't produce the exact same results, but today you would want to use Microsoft's LAPS (Local Administrator Password Solution):
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=46899
I've set it up several times now and it's really easy to use.I'm sorry if you're already familiar with it, but I didn't want anyone to think your suggestion is a good practice these days.
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I also wanted to add that I love Admin Arsenal's PDQ Inventory and Deploy. They aren't the cheapest software ever, but in my situation it works out well. Their licensing policy is per admin, so I'm free to use it at all my clients' offices as long as I'm the one using it. I do outsourced IT, so it's perfect.
At a few smaller locations that don't have a central server (or workstation they use as a server) I've setup chocolatey scripts and used Ninite, too. Both work well.
It's really cut down on the admin pop-ups caused by Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, and Java.
When provisioning a new workstation there's obviously a need to use admin credentials a lot. But thereafter I find that if you can take care of these frequently updated pieces of software users rarely encounter admin UAC prompts.
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@Brett said:
@JaredBusch said:
@Mike-Davis said:
@JaredBusch said:
As an outsourced IT Service Provider, we cannot be always available to clients to handle this need in as timely a fashion as needed at times (i.e. the owner says he needs his cat pics screensaver installed now).
The compromise we have come up with is a domain account that is added to the local administrators group in AD.
I'm in the boat and also use group policy to push a local admin account to the machines through group policy. If a machine (esp laptops) decides it doesn't want to log in to the domain, you can just log in with the local account and get it going.
Yeah, we push that LocalAdmin via GPO. It is not manually setup on the machines.
Consider changing this practice. I used to do it that way, too, but it's no longer considered secure and Microsoft won't even allow you to do it anymore in the newer versions of Windows Server in the GPPs.
So I read through the LAPS you linked to.. and I have to ask.. What's the difference between JB's creating a specific account and granting that account local admin and the fact that by default domain admin group is added to the local administrators group on every PC on the domain?
LAPS is more about the local admin account password being set the same on every machine, but JB's solution isn't the local admin account, it's a domain account that's granted local admin access.
I have done what LAPS is meant to replace - use GPO to set the local admin password to a specific password, and your point about it applying to more than just workstations is well received. I'm going to look into LAPS. Thanks.
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I had way too many problems with virus issues and computer performance with letting users have admin access on desktop and laptop computers. I have pretty much eliminated these issues by making them all users and only installing pre-apporved software. I have Ninite Pro running as SYSTEM in a GPO/logon script to update 3rd party software and also I use it to push software remotely on demand.
I did run into a problem with UPS Worldship that needed to update several times a week and needed local admin rights to do so. The problem was solved by running the Microsoft Application Compatibility toolkit.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7352
It allows you to create a database for the files that you would like to be whitelisted to run as admin so they can be executed if the user doesn't have admin access to it. You can also limit by file version (which is the default, so be careful).
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@Dashrender Laps assigns a DIFFERENT password on every machine.
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@wrx7m said:
@Dashrender Laps assigns a DIFFERENT password on every machine.
sure, to the local admin account. But that has nothing to do with JB's (and my) approach.
Our approach uses a domain account that would have assigned local admin privileges. This is no different than the Domain Admin account. If these accounts are at risk, then all accounts in a domain are at risk.
I do completely understand setting the local admin accounts to different passwords, preventing an attacker from walking your network from machine to machine through a local account that would typically bypass logging that a domain account would have.
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@Dashrender said:
sure, to the local admin account. But that has nothing to do with JB's (and my) approach.
Our approach uses a domain account that would have assigned local admin privileges. This is no different than the Domain Admin account. If these accounts are at risk, then all accounts in a domain are at risk.
I do completely understand setting the local admin accounts to different passwords, preventing an attacker from walking your network from machine to machine through a local account that would typically bypass logging that a domain account would have.
Plus isn't there a concern of giving anyone that password. I guess if you absolutely trust the people you give the PDF to. But people always take the easy way out. I would assume never giving non-IT that password would be best practice.
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@BRRABill Giving that PDF is no different than giving helpdesk personal the ability to look up the passwords in AD as LAPS allows those with permissions.
My thought wasn't to give the domain based account password to anyone. It would be used to save the credentials for locally launching an app that requires local admin access.
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My point is that giving anyone access to circumvent the system seems to weaken it.
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@BRRABill said:
My point is that giving anyone access to circumvent the system seems to weaken it.
You cannot have perfect security. That is a myth. There is no such thing as perfect.
Even near perfect security is a system that is useless to being used.
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The solution of the domain account and using saved creditials on needed machines kept anyone from knowing the password.
the other option where supervisors have a sheet with it.. that's a business decision, not really an IT one.
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We don't give anyone local admin rights. Tried published software before but it sucks.. I might look into a chocolate repo and a web interface that ties to PSexec to install the software to the computer the user visiting the webpage is on.
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@Dashrender said:
@Brett said:
@JaredBusch said:
@Mike-Davis said:
@JaredBusch said:
As an outsourced IT Service Provider, we cannot be always available to clients to handle this need in as timely a fashion as needed at times (i.e. the owner says he needs his cat pics screensaver installed now).
The compromise we have come up with is a domain account that is added to the local administrators group in AD.
I'm in the boat and also use group policy to push a local admin account to the machines through group policy. If a machine (esp laptops) decides it doesn't want to log in to the domain, you can just log in with the local account and get it going.
Yeah, we push that LocalAdmin via GPO. It is not manually setup on the machines.
Consider changing this practice. I used to do it that way, too, but it's no longer considered secure and Microsoft won't even allow you to do it anymore in the newer versions of Windows Server in the GPPs.
So I read through the LAPS you linked to.. and I have to ask.. What's the difference between JB's creating a specific account and granting that account local admin and the fact that by default domain admin group is added to the local administrators group on every PC on the domain?
LAPS is more about the local admin account password being set the same on every machine, but JB's solution isn't the local admin account, it's a domain account that's granted local admin access.
I have done what LAPS is meant to replace - use GPO to set the local admin password to a specific password, and your point about it applying to more than just workstations is well received. I'm going to look into LAPS. Thanks.
I don't think I fully understood what Jared was saying.I replied to his line about pushing a "local admin" account via group policy without thoroughly looking at his earlier posts with the screenshots. I didn't realize he meant pushing a domain account named local admin.
What you don't want to do is create local accounts via GPPs because the passwords aren't stored securely. This is where LAPS helps because it gives a local account on each workstation a random password every so many days that's stored in AD. Also note that you can assign it to any account. For instance, I leave the builtin administrator account disabled but create a new local admin named "LocalAdmin" as part of the provisioning process. Then LAPS changes its password regularly for me.
But as far as pushing a domain user (or security group) into the workstations' local administrators group, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. My only word of caution would be to only use that account for workstation administration so that an attacker can't pass the hash into more significant systems.
Through a GPO I prevent the workstation admin security group from having logon rights to server systems and vice versa for the server admin security group. With PDQ Inventory and Deploy I use accounts that are restricted to logon as batch or service since there's no need for interactive logon.
It really all comes down to having only the rights that are necessary for the task.
