Can I allow standard users to install software when Parental Control is enabled?

Question

I had to set up a time limit to one of the account on my Windows 7 PC. So i had created a standard user account and set up parental control for it. But i want the user to be able to install ANY software without the need for the administrator password. How do i give the standard user privilege to install software?

Solution

You can't. Admin privileges are required to write to the Program Files.

So unless the Programs are designed specifically to install to a different location and write registry keys only to non-restricted registry keys, then you are SOL.

Allowing a user to install applications that would normally require an admin password defeats the whole purpose of a user account. At install time, they can just go awol with the system.

Comments

[Michael Blaustein]

How exactly does allowing a user to install applications that would normally require an admin password defeat the whole purpose of a user account? And what do you mean by awol? Why can't a user just have time limits and not limit write access to certain folders or registry keys? I believe this is a lazy answer which goes along with the lazy separation of Windows 7 users into Administators and Standard users. A standard user is just a user with a certain set of permissions. Why can't these be adjusted by a good admin?

[surfasb]

Step. 1) Create an install program that fires up a command prompt, which will have the same permissions as the installer. Step 2) ... Step 3) Profit.