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Google Chrome Board > Google Chrome > Google Chrome Support > Lack of installation options
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Author Topic: Lack of installation options  (Read 1862 times)
Rhys
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« on: January 26, 2010, 09:54:28 AM »
I was told Chrome was faster than Firefox, so I tried it and had major problems with installation. I run a dual-boot machine with XP and Ubuntu. My XP is installed in a secure setup with an administrator account and two user accounts. Chrome gave me no options in installation and installed itself in a very strange location which only worked under the administrator account and couldn't even be found in the other two accounts, which defeats the entire purpose of using the administrator account. It was a bit faster, but I uninstalled it.

Google needs to drop their proprietary setup program and use a standard one that works with different kinds of windows installations.
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sarjoor
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« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2010, 01:22:27 PM »
Although Chrome does install into a not-quite-as-usual location for XP (ie. it does not install into C:\Program Files), the installation directory it chooses is: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome

There should be no problems installing or writing to that directory for each user, and is supported by the fact that so many people do use Chrome perfectly fine on XP.

Whether Chrome provides options to choose the installation directory is another matter.  If you have problems installing Chrome even for normal user accounts on XP, there is something wrong with your "secure XP setup".
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Rhys
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« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2010, 12:49:59 PM »
Quote from: sarjoor on January 26, 2010, 01:22:27 PM
Although Chrome does install into a not-quite-as-usual location for XP (ie. it does not install into C:\Program Files), the installation directory it chooses is: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome

There should be no problems installing or writing to that directory for each user, and is supported by the fact that so many people do use Chrome perfectly fine on XP.

Whether Chrome provides options to choose the installation directory is another matter.  If you have problems installing Chrome even for normal user accounts on XP, there is something wrong with your "secure XP setup".

What it does is to install into C:\Documents and Settings\admin\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome. If there were no problems installing or writing into that directory for any other user but the administrator, there would definitely be something wrong with my secure setup - it would no longer be secure. The administrator account is supposed to be off-limits to any other users.

Possibly I could install chrome three separate times, once for each account, but that would again defeat security.

Most people set up windows in the default settings, so don't have a problem. Neither do they have much security (although Windows XP doesn't implement user accounts nearly as well as Linux.)
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sarjoor
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« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2010, 02:51:44 PM »
Quote from: Rhys on January 27, 2010, 12:49:59 PM
Possibly I could install chrome three separate times, once for each account, but that would again defeat security.
Then you have missed the point about Chrome installs.  Chrome installs are exactly per user; you are supposed to install it separate times, once for each user.

That is NOT a security lapse or threat.  By design, Chrome installs into a user's personal Local Settings\Application data directory, which is designed to be personally writable for each user.  That's the way Chrome installs are designed to work, and NOT a defeat of security.

The other installation option is a system installation for multiple user accounts through Google Pack.  If done this way, you will replace all other versions of Google Chrome that may already be installed on your computer for other user accounts.

The details for the system installation can be found at:  Installing Software: Installing Google Chrome for multiple user accounts
http://pack.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=118663
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Rhys
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« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2010, 10:58:22 AM »
Quote from: sarjoor on January 27, 2010, 02:51:44 PM
Quote from: Rhys on January 27, 2010, 12:49:59 PM
Possibly I could install chrome three separate times, once for each account, but that would again defeat security.
Then you have missed the point about Chrome installs.  Chrome installs are exactly per user; you are supposed to install it separate times, once for each user.

That is NOT a security lapse or threat.  By design, Chrome installs into a user's personal Local Settings\Application data directory, which is designed to be personally writable for each user.  That's the way Chrome installs are designed to work, and NOT a defeat of security.

The other installation option is a system installation for multiple user accounts through Google Pack.  If done this way, you will replace all other versions of Google Chrome that may already be installed on your computer for other user accounts.

The details for the system installation can be found at:  Installing Software: Installing Google Chrome for multiple user accounts
http://pack.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=118663



Thank you for the explanation. I probably will try the latter option.

You are right that this is not a lapse of security, as the problem is with Windows. If it actually implemented user accounts properly, no user without administrator privileges should be able to add or remove software, change the registry, or move critical files, all of which my 6 year old grandson has done to my computer. They should only be able to modify their own documents, photos, and music, which is what the "documents and settings" directory is for, not installing programs.
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sarjoor
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« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2010, 12:39:30 PM »
Quote from: Rhys on January 29, 2010, 10:58:22 AM
They should only be able to modify their own documents, photos, and music, which is what the "documents and settings" directory is for, not installing programs.

That's a pretty fine line to draw.  Users can "modify" their own "Documents and Settings" but not "install" programs into their own "Documents and Settings"?

Many people would feel that installing is one form of modification.  Which is exactly what Google Chrome uses this for: personal program installation.  And not only Chrome, but there are other software that installs directory into a users personal directory.

And also the same for registry changes.  "Normal users" should only be able to change their personal registry entries, including adding or removing software, but not system level registry values.

And Microsoft knows this and agrees.  That's why this has been put into place in Vista and Windows 7.  Starting with Vista, users are created with a "normal" user level that cannot change system critical files.  I strongly recommend that you upgrade to Windows 7 if you share your computer with a 6 year old that can install and remove software.
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