Safe To Turn Off UAC?

i was wondering is it safe to turn off User Access Control. as i find it annoying that i have to confirm what programs i want to open and its even more annoying as i have to confrim several when i turn the computer on.

what does UAC do other then make you confirm what you want to open?
have you got it on or off?

 

I tweaked basicly everything when I got my vista laptop, turning off uac was one of the things I did.

 

You can disable UAC, but ideally you want to have your system in a state where you can leave it on without it being a pest.

What stuff are you running at startup that trigger UAC?

 

RivaTuner and TuneUp 2008 at start up ad then when ever i want to use TuneUp i have to confirm it 2 or 3 times before i can use it. which is annoying. is there a way o maake it so that it permently allows access to a program, meaning when i open it i dont have to confirm it?

if not i might just turn it off. what does UAC do other then reuest confirmation when opening programs?

 

Leave UAC on if theres any other users of your notebook.

It puts a protection for newbies. Stops them from making the computer self-destruct.

I suggest you read up on exactly what it does first before disabling.

Personally, i disable it.

 

The first thing I did when I got my laptop was turn off UAC. I haven't had any problems so far. It's really just an annoying program to protect people who are dumb enough to download and run malicious programs on their computer. I would turn it off if I were you.
Tim

 

its my laptop, no one uses it i dont want them breaking it.
i think im going to turn it off.

thanx for the help.

 

Yes, I would. I left it on for well over a year and finally took it off a couple of months ago. I definitely don't miss it.

 

Everything you're not prompted for is run in a lower privilege mode, so it can't mess with your OS. If there's a buffer overflow or similar exploit that can run malicious code on your machine, that code can't compromise the OS. If anything wants privileges to make changes to system files, you have to approve it with UAC. UAC also gives you IE protected mode, which is similar in concept but is an even more locked-down state for running IE.

 

I am working with UAC on and I find it pretty useful for the reasons mentioned by Swarmer.

I think its better to work with UAC on for quiet a while after you get your laptop / OS. Is pretty useful I would say. Its bit annoying, I don't deny that, but most of the times I feel it as a reassuring thing about what I am doing. Anyways, it all boils down to personal preference and user / technical expertise I guess

 

There are a couple workarounds for this...
1. Don't turn your computer on/off much. Sleep or hibernate it and you won't have to restart the programs... they'll still be running. (I usually reboot about once a week.)
2. Use Task Scheduler and create tasks to run them automatically at logon, with admin privileges. See here for more info: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=436&page=4

Actually, I intend to leave it on permanently. It's not hard to arrange your workflow to avoid needing the UAC prompts. And because you're not running your web browser as administrator, it makes it nearly impossible for something like a drive-by download to mess up your system.

Save files to your home directory, not Program Files. If there are one or two protected directories you absolutely need to write to often, then edit the permissions on those directories to allow yourself to write there.

If there are one or two apps that require permissions that you need to run often, you can use the Task Scheduler workaround I linked to above.

So the only times I really get these prompts are installing/updating software, and changing some control panel settings. If you're really using your computer rather than just tweaking it, this shouldn't be too often.

 

Protecting your operating system from yourself be damned. I want to be able to say "format C:\" into my microphone and have the computer do it immediately.

 

I also turned off UAC. It is redundant and unneccessary in my situation.

 

so some people find it better to leave it on while others prefer it off. great.

swarmer thanx for the link. ill have a look.
i just find it annoying that it asks me if i want to run the program just in case it was dnagerous, if it was it would be better if it warmed me before installing it. and if im running an app then i would thinik its okay, im not going to run an app if i think its dangerous.

 

I hate UAC its sooooo in your face like I love the way the Mac Ad takes the **** outa it!!

 

What mac ad ?

 

after reading some more about it im not sure if i want to risk switching it off, sure i would say i know what im doing and im the only person that uses my computer. but i just dont think i want to risk it.

 

If it does not interfere with your use of the PC, why change it?

If it does interfere, is it worth the interference? Do you have another means by which to provide that worth? Can you quantify the positive and negative attributes of UAC in your situation? Do you know, specifically, what UAC does?

Unless you can articulate, for yourself, the answers to these questions and statements, you are not ready to make a change in any direction.

 

I have never had UAC on for more than 15 seconds on ANY of my Vista PCs. That being said, I am very careful what I install and have resident malware protection running 24/7. As long as you are careful, I see no reason to leave it on. That, however, is just one mans opinion.

 

its not that it interfers, its that its annoying having it pop up every 5 seconds telling me to confirm it, i dont mind it if its like new program or im installing something, but when its something i use EVERYDAY then it gets every annoying.

@ Dook_In_The_Urinal

i have Avast antivirus alwauys running, Tune Up utilites SpyErasure, Windows defender, windows firewall. are these good enough, if not what should i get in order to have it so that i dont have to have UAC on.

 

To be honest, I would nix Avast, get Avira(if you want a free solution, otherwise I recommend NOD32), disable Windows Defender and Windows Firewall, install Comodo and call it a day. I think you will find your system to be a lot more responsive as well.

 

It warns you when something needs administrator privileges. For most programs, this is only the installer.

What program are you running that wants admin permission every time you run it? Is there some reason it needs it?

Why is it coming up? What are you running that keeps bringing up UAC every 5 seconds?

 

I run a firewall that checks program access to the internet, I have AV & AS (but that is largely unneccessary), and I limit the programs I install on my PC.

 

Mine's off because I know what I'm doing when I'm using my computer.

I woulnd't mind it if it were like sudo in linux where it creates a session which is incredibly useful when you're configuring and installing plenty of things and you don't want to go through dozens of popups that you know you'll be clicking OK/ALLOW.

 

Yep, ive had it off since day 1 with vista
Standard security software should keep you perfectly safe

 

when ever i open RivaTuner, i have that on startup it pops up as well as TuneUp, i have that on startup as well.

i got Comodo Firewall Pro 3.0 as well as STOPzilla. whats better:

Avast
Avira
NOD32

i currently have Avast.
when i get onto my computer again (around a mates) i will write down software i have, i kow i have Avast and Uniblue spyeraser

 

My option is to leave UAC on but disable the elevation prompt.

How-to:
1. Run secpol.msc
2. Go to Local Policies -> Security Options
3. Change User Account Control: Behaviour of the elevation of prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode to Elevate without prompting

Hope this helps.

 

http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/arc...secpol-in-vista-home-premium-so-now-what.aspx

I did the steps there and I no longer get the alerts. Is it safe?

secpol.msc doesn't exist in Home premium by the way.

 

I don't Recommend that, but it's up to you. Just don't forget that Protected Mode in Internet Explorer will be useless after disabling UAC. Therefore:

1. Do not use IE: Use Google Chrome or Firefox instead.

2. Install a Good Anti-Virus with Anti-Spyware/Malware/Rootkit Protection.

3. Use a Lower Privilege user login while browsing the Internet.

You can add a "Disable UAC" / "Enable UAC" Context menu, here

 

For what it's worth, I have UAC on (and I have used fundamentally equivalent configurations in Win2K and WinXP for years), and I never, ever, see a UAC prompt when I do normal user-mode stuff (any regular user program). Of course, if I attempt to modify or access system settings while logged in as a standard user, I will get a prompt. However, it is worth noting that every reasonably modern operating system, be it Linux, OSX, or anything else, will act in exactly the same way.

Thus, when I do system maintenance (installing or updating software, modifying system settings), I log in as the Administrator. Note that you can disable UAC prompts for the Admin, while leaving UAC enabled for regular users.


[Rant On]Finally, it is worth pointing out that, if you have some piece of user-mode software and you get UAC prompts, then this is simply because the software in question is not Windows-compatible, and violates standards that are at least a decade old. For example, some programs still write user files and user configuration data into the ProgramFiles folder hierarchy (or, worse, in C:\Windows...). This is completely unacceptable. If you have software like that, you should complain to the inept outfit that coded this software, and not about Vista acting the way it should in a case like that.[Rant Off]

 

You do know that Vista (just like all Windows NT versions before) has the RunAs command (either from the context menu, or the command line)? RunAs is the Windows equivalent to sudo in Unix systems.

 

UAC wouldn't be a problem if it just remembered which program we said it was ok to run. Why can't it just have a little check box that says "ignore this prompt or do not ask me about this program when running this command in the future" or something like that. The only time it should prompt us is on new programs we never ran in the pass.

Win7 kept the UAC but got rid of the black out screen.

 

Because that would completely defeat the purpose of UAC. You need to understand what it is you are trying to do. If you are messing with system files or settings (which is the same thing really), you need elevated privileges; in that case the OS must prompt you to authorize the privilege elevation, period. If you are running a properly coded user program, you should never see a prompt, see my post above.

 

why would that make it pointless? i think asking us the same old question over and over again, to "approve" the same program is pointless. it should only pop up when we open a new program, or a program that we didn't give it "permission" to ignore.

i think MS should add a "ignore this program" checkbox in sp2..

i get prompted if i run defrag, but i don't get prompted if i run spybots.. yeah, how much damage would defragging my comp do? haha

 

If I could not disable UAC I would have formatted and put XP back on. It was beyond annoying and was gone the day I received my dv6500t. UAC in Vista was for the most part a PR nightmare for MS. It has been rewritten and modified for seven. Maybe in the next SP vista will get the updated version. But until then I suggest you dump it unless you enjoy being annoyed. I use FF and Nod32 and I can't remember ever having a problem with either my vista or XP machine. Vista is just too dumbed down. Seven should be better. But for vista to be usuable one must dive into the msc.services and msconfig and dump services like crazy to get it somewhat optimized. Vista's ok but its crap in its default setup. And for many factory oem installs of vista it is for the most part complete total crap.

 

I'm not super-into it, as it gave me grief on a minute-to-minute basis when I had it installed. I'll stick with Comodo and AVG and take my chances.

It's safe if you're an experienced user (you know what you're doing; you don't need to be warned of the effects of your actions) and/or if you have good security especially in network connections.

 

O.k., I'll simply repeat: Every real operating system on the planet acts this way, and for very good reasons. Windows 7 will be no different in that respect. Deal with it.

 

Not in any subtantial way.

You can get annoyed with Vista's UAC for two possible reasons:

- You don't really understand what it is you are doing.

- You are running programs that are not Windows compatible.

In both cases the solutions are obvious... Like I said above, I never see a UAC prompt during normal usage, ever. When I do get one, I know exactly why.

None of these are a susbtitute for UAC at all, for fundamental reasons. The protection that a standard user account in connection with UAC affords you goes far beyond anything any anti-virus (or anti-whatever-elese) program could ever do for you. For starters, the built-in OS security does not depend on having updated virus signatures. Disabling UAC and habitually running with administrative privileges disables just about all of the OS' built-in security. If you do that, you might as well go back to DOS, as far as OS security is concerned.

See my post above; Windows Seven will have the same UAC as does Vista.

That's nonsense. Vista runs just fine in its default configuration, at least on better-than-marginal hardware. You may notice that services that are not in active use do not take up system resources in a way that would impact your performance.

 

Actually, Microsoft is making big changes to UAC for Windows 7: http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/10/30/arspdc-windows-7s-streamlined-uac

I tend to think that Vista got UAC mostly right, and this is a step in the wrong direction... but Microsoft is a business and has to deal with the fact that UAC hasn't been well-received by the general public. Also, I haven't used the revised UAC, so I'll have to re-evaluate when I have a chance to try it. In any case, it sounds like it can be customized to behave more or less like Vista's UAC... I do think making it more customizable is a good idea at this point.

 

UAC on Win7 beta doesn't have the blackout lock down screen which is hella annoying. Also, in Win7, UAC doesn't pop up as much as vista.

for example, running defrag in vista would cause the UAC to pop up. It doesn't in Win7.

 

Uh, XP doesn't ask for my permission when I run defrag. No annoying popups.

 

That's because you are running it with administrative privileges... Of course, you should never do your day-to-day work logged in as an administrator. But you already knew that, didn't you?

And, yes, if you log in as a limited user in XP, as you should, you will not get UAC pop-ups. All you'll get is "permission denied" messages.

 

That has nothing to do with UAC, and everything with the lame defragger that comes with Vista. I never use that; if you use something like, say, PerfectDisk, you can run the defragger as a normal user, without any UAC pop-ups.

 

Actually defrag in Vista is designed to run automatically on a schedule, so normally no user interaction is required. The UAC prompt is there because a user has the potential to change how disk defragmenter works which is considered to be a system-wide change. In day to day use, you should never see a UAC prompt for it.

 

If they were able to ensure that the UAC pop-up still is on the "Secure Desktop" like it is today (that's why the screen fades to gray when a prompt is displayed) even without the screen change, then I'll feel better about this decision.

If not, and they just turned it off to placate people, then I worry that malware will spoof the prompts, like they already do for things like the Windows Security Center.

 

Excellent point, I fully agree. I don't quite understand what issues people have with the secure desktop anyway. But then I don't even understand why people ***** and moan about UAC in the first place... To put it bluntly: IMHO, people who know how to use computers will have no problem with UAC; the rest (the self-professed "power users" in particular) are free to turn it off, and best of luck to them...

 

What's even more interesting, they actually toned down the behavior of UAC before the Vista release based on beta tester feedback.

Originally, they planned to require users to do a Ctrl+Alt+Delete, to view the actual UAC prompt on the Secure Desktop as that was the only most absolute way to protect the prompt from being spoofed. They scrapped it after complaints from beta testers and focus groups, particularly users of XP Home who were used to seeing Task Manager right away.

You can still use Group Policy to turn it on-That's what I have it set to now, pretty much because I'm a paranoid person. *looks around*

More information from the Windows Vista Team Blog about the logic they used around designing UAC: (very interesting) Security vs. Convenience

 

IMO, the screen darkening isn't annoying, but the blank screen flash before the dark screen is annoying. They should work on making the transition to the dark screen smoother, instead of eliminating the darkened screen altogether.

Spoofing the prompts isn't actually that exciting. I mean, what if they do put up a fake prompt and trick someone to click on it... what happens? Nothing.

The real problem is that malware could put other stuff on the screen to trick users into clicking... like draw stuff over the prompt and replace the wording in the prompt... stuff like that. Or malware could just use normal window scripting to simulate a click on the Continue button... although I would assume Microsoft found a way to disable that, at least.

But anyway, it sounds like they're shifting the balance away from security and toward convenience... I'm just glad we'll have that slider to set it back to being secure again. I do wish they'd make the secure setting the default though... then software makers would be forced to make their programs play nice with the secure settings, and bloggers could just set the security to a low setting instead of whining about it endlessly.

 

That's what I was thinking only I worded it weirdly. It's happened to my uncle several times, he sees a "official" looking prompt from "Security Center" and, bam!

Next thing you know, I'm on the phone explaining how to use the Dell recovery partition... And this was with both AVG and Spyware Doctor Starter installed. (now if they were updated, who knows-only dial-up's available where he lives, they might not have been downloaded in time...)

 

the main problem is, that depending on system load and harddrive speed, it can blank your screen for seconds before you actually start to note, ah, its UAC.. and then you have to wait several seconds till the actual UAC question shows up to allow/disallow.

I've had it once to take over a minute to do that.

it's very very very annoying then.

but now on the ssd's it's all the time showing up instantly, up to 1 sec delay at max (if cpu and disk is at full work).

but espencially on notebooks with slow disks it's utterly annoying if the system "freezes" because of UAC.