SharePoint 2010 Install Error

During a recent install of SharePoint 2010 I got this error message:

An exception of type System.Security.Cryptography.CryptographicException was thrown…

There was a little more to it, but not really anything of help. 

I googled the error message and found many blogs that suggested giving Network Service full control over the 14 hive (SharePoint root).  This not only seemed like over kill but also a security hole, there is a good reason why the Network Service account does not have full control over the 14 hive.  

Not liking the popular fix, I dove in a little more and found a much easier and secure solution.

When you run the SharePoint 2010 Products and Technology wizard, be sure to right click and select “Run As Administrator”

…that’s it.