Why does software installation fail on secure systems?
Strict security controls and application whitelisting block legitimate software deployments and routine updates, forcing engineers to wait hours or days for approval. This delay doubles system commissioning times and leaves users stranded without necessary tools on weekends.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Deprioritizing client sites that use strict zero-trust security toolsDid this help you?
- 2Manually approving security exceptions on the flyDid this help you?
- 3Waiting for the IT provider to process ticketsDid this help you?
- 4Working around restricted access during off-hoursDid this help you?
- 5Pleading with IT support for peripheral driversDid this help you?
- 6Devising complex technical workarounds rather than getting security exceptions approvedDid this help you?
- 7Abandoning traditional IT tasks to act full-time as security policy enforcersDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Almost 80% of the problems I've encountered in recent years while implementing new systems, which have caused me months and months of headaches and stress, have always turned out to stem from draconian security restrictions or incompatibilities with one of their services.”source ↗
“Even when we establish that this is the problem, I'm expected to find another workaround rather than have the security policies changed or exceptions made.”source ↗
“Even the most basic tasks, such as providing remote support, have become unnecessarily complicated to the point of frustration, and there's a constant atmosphere of panic and terror spreading throughout the department.”source ↗
“I now have to wait to update software, download things like Adobe PDF (they forgot to load it on my computer), my mouse and elgato software, etc. It gets frustrating on weekends when I am working and something needs an update to work and I am stuck.”source ↗
“It took us 4 attempts just to deploy our installer - We uninstalled the application multiple times due to corrupted install.”source ↗
“Systems commissioning and support took twice as long. We plan to deprioritise clients sites with threatlocker as engineers quite often getting struck at sites waiting for approvals.”source ↗
“Your MSP on weekends will respond with whatever their sla agreement is and triage bases on the priority.”source ↗
“I hate arbitrary security recommendations at much as the next guy, and my company seems all about it while ignoring other things that can cause problems or don't make sense”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to know if a software update is safe
- 5How to catch new software installs without false alarms
- 9Why is security software generating so many false alerts?
- 4Why does security software lock out the entire organization?
- 3How to streamline Intune security policies across multiple tenants
- 2Free ways to push updates and force reboots