Originally Posted by Bluspacecow
The default set up of most OS X installs particular ones you buy from a store these days is protect normal users from modifying the Applications folder
Applications is part of the admin group and hence needs to have a member of the admin group to modify it.
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No, it means that a program has to ask for admin permission to modify it. This is how properly written applications behave. I've been running OS X since the beta ten years ago. Every now and then I run into a program that doesn't understand permissions and admin rights or that won't install in the users own Applications folder (which requires no admin rights) and usually I file a bug report and if it doesn't get fixed, I don't run that app.
World of Warcraft used to be just fine. In fact, I had two installs on the machine, one in my home and one in another users home and everything worked as you would expect, with each user having their own preferences respect.
Since Activision took over, they have changed WoW so that this does NOT work. WoW now writes a folder into the /Users/Shared folder that keeps track of the install location, which means having two installs now fails spectacularly badly. Now they have an installer that requires not just admin rights (remember, the wow folder is installed in MY app folder and is owned by MY user account, it is not in the systems app folder and is not owned by the admin, so no need for admin rights) but actually requires being run as the admin user, with wow installed in the default folder. If you don't do this, it doesn't ask for admin rights (like a properly written app does) and it doesn't post a error (like a badly written port would) it just crashes silently.
It is stupid and lazy programming that actually goes out of its way to make your system less secure (sort of like the ridiculous password policy WoW now has).
Originally Posted by Bluspacecow
Yes. When you're on an admin user you can do irreparable harm to your hard drive if you don't know what you are doing. But it doesn't mean every program asking to be installed on an admin user is a maliciously underhanded program.
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It means it is either malicious, lazy, or stupid. There is no need, ever, for a installer or application on OS X to require and admin USER to run it. Proper programs that do require admin rights simply ask for them when they are launched.
Originally Posted by Bluspacecow
You just need to know what you are doing , know where it's installing stuff and most importantly have a good backup system !
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Believe me, I know what I am doing, which is WHY I run my computer as a standard user.