Update software without admin rights and access the registry

Question

I have a .NET application that still uses the registry. I would now like to do updates without the user being administrator and without changing the group policy object. During the update process I need access to the registry. The initial installation of the application can be done by an admin.

Is there any possibility to achieve this goal? Could I use a certifcate for this?

Solution

It may be too late but if you can do one last administrative update you can set the permissions on the registry key via RegistryKey.GetAccessControl, set write access to the key, then use RegistryKey.SetAccessControl to save the setting (This will require admin privs the first time you try to do it)