Automating folder permissions: How?

[Fran]

I have a user that gets a new version of an application monthly. This
requires the uninstall and reinstall of the application (it's a poor
design to be sure but I have to deal with it as it's a company product
they use.)

Recently we implemented "Least Privaleges" at this office to reduce
the incindence of spyware (which seems to be working well, I might
interject) but it does mean that the user does not have permission to
install or uninstall applications.

I got some assistance on automating the install and uninstall from
another group but I have not found a way to set permissons through a
script. What I need to do is this:

Uninstall the existing app
Reinstall the new version
<both of the above are now done through a script>

Set user rights to the path that gives my user "Modify" security
rights.

This is an older app that has a hard coded path off the root of C:. I
have no way to change where it installs itself. Is there a way I can
script setting the user access rights to this folder?

Thanks for any help!

-Fran-

 

[Kent W. England]

Fran wrote on 23-Jan-2006 5:07 AM:

This is an older app that has a hard coded path off the root of C:. I
have no way to change where it installs itself. Is there a way I can
script setting the user access rights to this folder?

The "cacls" command comes with Windows XP and is designed to allow you
to script certain types of file permission changes. "cacls /?" for
details on the syntax, just be sure to include the /e option whenever
you want to change, rather than replace, permissions.

If this still doesn't work, you may need to change HKLM registry key
permissions. This is rare but sometimes explains why settings don't
stick. This is often solved by running the app once in admin mode.

If you can avoid deleting the app folder on uninstall, you might not
have to run cacls each time.

If the installer is InstallShield or another common installer, you can
often use "unattended" files to change parameters of installation, such
as the install folder. Go to "setup_deployment" newsgroup to read and
ask questions about unattended, or silent, installs.

 

[Fran]

This looks like what I need. Thanks!