Install and Run Poker Software on XP Restricted User Account

I recently read in another forum that due to the invasive abilities of the poker client software, it was recommended that players/users who operate on Windows XP install and run the poker client software on resricted user accounts. Players/users were cautioned that installing and running poker client software on administrative user accounts provides the poker client with adminisrative access and full dominion over the computer and perhaps network. It was suggested that the resricted user account would help contain the poker client software within the limits of the restricted account. If this is true, the poker client software could be prevented from scanning, file snooping or invading beyond the restricted user account and files specifically shared with the restricted user account. Any accuracy here? Any thoughts?

[Mr Gee]

Most software for home use expects that it is both installed and run from an Administrator account. I wouldn't imagine that it would work very well, if at all.

No harm in giving it a go though. If you do try it, install it to somewhere where the limited account will have write rights to, like the My Documents folder, rather than to Program Files.

In all actuality regardless of whether or not it's installed for use by a restricted user or not is irrelivent. Once the product is installed any process it spawns can be set by the developer to run as the LocalSystem account. This account (a non-interactive account so you can't log in with it) has more privileges than the Administrator account when it comes to the local machine. Therefore it could remove your admin rights and the rights of all users preventing you from ever logging in again (well you could log in again with the right tools and some knowledge of Windows authentication methods and SIDs). Although as the name implies it does not have rights to access anything off of the machine i.e. across a network.

Also when dealing with XP Home all users by default are considered to be Adimins by the OS. And in the case of Windows 95/98/ME there is no such thing as restricted rights. These OSes do not offer file level security due to the fact that they use FAT16/FAT32 instead of NTFS for it's file system. So the only way to protect yourself from snooping and tracking by an application is to only use apps from companies you trust. Even then however one can never be absolutely sure that your habits are not being tracked and sent elsewhere unless the code is independantly evaluated. I suggest reading any software's End User License Agreement and Privacy Policy. Despite how gouge your eyes out boring that stuff is, it's your best bet at knowing what a piece of software is going to do on your system. Any reputable software developer will be straight forward on what it does in these documents. If the documents leave you going "Well that tells me nothing" then it should raise a red flag that you shouldn't run their software.

[CORed]

I run Party's client on a user account on XP pro. I have never tried to install it from a user account. I'm pretty sure that the Party client install creates registry entries in HKLM, so I doubt that installing it from a non-administrator account would work. To run it from a user account, you do need to give the user account write permission for the hand history directory and notes file.