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I'm a business owner and have several MacBooks that are used by my employees. I am the Admin user of the laptop and my employees have Standard user access. However, they are not able to install any software as a Standard user - every time they try to do this, it asks for an Admin password.
How can I configure these Standard user accounts so that they are allowed to install software applications?
Thanks in advance!
MacBook Pro 15″, OS X 10.10
Standard users should only be able to install applications on their own account, typically in~/Applications, and not globally in /Applications. For applications that are installed just by dragging you can instruct them to drag to ~/Applications.
Applications with an installer may or may not allow selection of a location to install on, that will depend on their implementation.
You could create a special admin account that your employees could use if they need to install software.
They should use their standard user accounts for their day to day use and type those admin credentials when needed.
Of course this assumes a certain level of trust, as an admin can do just about anything.
Standard users should only be able to install applications on their own account, typically in~/Applications, and not globally in /Applications. For applications that are installed just by dragging you can instruct them to drag to ~/Applications.
Applications with an installer may or may not allow selection of a location to install on, that will depend on their implementation.
You could create a special admin account that your employees could use if they need to install software.
They should use their standard user accounts for their day to day use and type those admin credentials when needed.
Of course this assumes a certain level of trust, as an admin can do just about anything.
Ultimately, you will want to limit what your employees are allowed to do with company owned devices. You will need to reduce risk, protect the company and your customers. How many employee Mac's are you managing and does that include iPhones and / or iPads?
There are a lot of different tools available targeting very small business to massive enterprise environments with hundreds of thousands of devices. Most of these solutions use an MDM (Mobile Device Management) server. Apple wrote the spec and handles the APIs but mostly it's 3rd parties who build the actual MDM servers and sell them. Some of those MDM providers target small businesses with SaaS (Software as a Service) cloud based solution with affordable subscription based licensing. There are also a lot of MSP's (Managed Service Providers) which can provide you IT services. An MDM can automate much of the tasks you must be performing manually and can collect valuable data at the same time. An MDM allows you to automate IT management of these devices and scale to handle many devices. This would free up your time and would help alleviate any worries about what's really going on with your employee devices.
You might want to inquire at your local Apple Store manager about the Apple Consultants network. They can refer you to someone whose certified in your local area. Sounds like you might benefit from learning about what is possible and what your options are.
Very helpful - thanks, Luis!
Standard users unable to install software on Big Sur
