Vistumbler v10.6.4 Beta 1 - No More Admin Requirement for Vistumbler.exe
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:06 pm
Vistumbler v10.6.4 Beta 1 is the first release where I am trying to remove the requirement for Vistumbler to be run as administrator.
The main reasons vistumbler needed admin access
- Vistumbler settings were stored inside Program Files, which is a protected location
- Manufacturer, Label, Filter, and Instrument MDB databases were also in program files and needed write access
- Updates. Vistumbler.exe keeps the updater.exe up to date.
To try and remove the admin requirements I am moving settings into the profile, where the user has write access.
- The settings will now be stored in "%appdata%\Vistumbler\", which is inside the user profile. The user has write access to this location.
- Manufacturer, Label, Filter, and Instrument MDB databases have also been moved into "%appdata%\Vistumbler\"
- The update function which updated update.exe inside vistumbler has been moved to its own file (vistumbler_updater.exe).
Because all the setting have been moved to a user writable location and the update features have been moved I do not to require admin rights to run the main Vistumbler.exe. The update processes do still require admin rights, but you will only be prompted for them if you choose to update.
One thing to note is you can force settings changes by changing the default settings files inside the vistumbler programs files settings directory. I made it so if the files in that directory are newer it will update the files inside the users profile on vistumbler load. This was so I could still update settings files if needed, but could also lead to settings getting overwritten at some point.
Please let me know if the removal of admin requirements causes and issues, or there are any issues caused by settings files being moved. If anyone finds admin access is still needed, you can right click vistumbler an "run as administrator"
This new version could use testing on older versions of windows (Vista, 7, 8, 8.1) with UAC enabled. I am interest if both netsh mode and native wifi mode are still working. Most of my testing has been in Windows 10 so far, so more testing needs to be done.
The main reasons vistumbler needed admin access
- Vistumbler settings were stored inside Program Files, which is a protected location
- Manufacturer, Label, Filter, and Instrument MDB databases were also in program files and needed write access
- Updates. Vistumbler.exe keeps the updater.exe up to date.
To try and remove the admin requirements I am moving settings into the profile, where the user has write access.
- The settings will now be stored in "%appdata%\Vistumbler\", which is inside the user profile. The user has write access to this location.
- Manufacturer, Label, Filter, and Instrument MDB databases have also been moved into "%appdata%\Vistumbler\"
- The update function which updated update.exe inside vistumbler has been moved to its own file (vistumbler_updater.exe).
Because all the setting have been moved to a user writable location and the update features have been moved I do not to require admin rights to run the main Vistumbler.exe. The update processes do still require admin rights, but you will only be prompted for them if you choose to update.
One thing to note is you can force settings changes by changing the default settings files inside the vistumbler programs files settings directory. I made it so if the files in that directory are newer it will update the files inside the users profile on vistumbler load. This was so I could still update settings files if needed, but could also lead to settings getting overwritten at some point.
Please let me know if the removal of admin requirements causes and issues, or there are any issues caused by settings files being moved. If anyone finds admin access is still needed, you can right click vistumbler an "run as administrator"
This new version could use testing on older versions of windows (Vista, 7, 8, 8.1) with UAC enabled. I am interest if both netsh mode and native wifi mode are still working. Most of my testing has been in Windows 10 so far, so more testing needs to be done.