User Account Control (UAC) In Windows 7

User Account Control (UAC) was first introduced in Windows Vista and has always been a lightening rod for criticism.  Many would prefer to have the operating system do things they ask it to do – not send up a another question to ask Are you sure?  The feature was introduced to help control rogue programs/malware and their efforts to take over your computer and do bad things with it.

In Windows 7 they have tweaked the settings for UAC and I find it to be much less intrusive. There are still many who do not like UAC even in Windows 7. I will take these handful of questions when I ask to do something just for that one time when a rogue program wants to install something without my knowledge.

If you start up the UAC Control Panel applet you will see 4 options available to you. Below is a screen shot of each of those options pages and the description of each setting from the Windows 7 Help file.

Always notify

• You’ll be notified before programs make changes to your computer or to Windows settings that require administrator permissions.

• When you’re notified, your desktop will be dimmed, and you must either approve or deny the request in the UAC dialog box before you can do anything else on your computer. The dimming of your desktop is referred to as the secure desktop because other programs can’t run while it’s dimmed.

• This is the most secure setting.

• When you’re notified, you should carefully read the contents of each dialog box before allowing changes to be made to your computer.

Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer

• You’ll be notified before programs make changes to your computer that require administrator permissions.

• You won’t be notified if you try to make changes to Windows settings that require administrator permissions.

• You’ll be notified if a program outside of Windows tries to make changes to a Windows setting.

• It’s usually safe to allow changes to be made to Windows settings without you being notified. However, certain programs that come with Windows can have commands or data passed to them, and malicious software can take advantage of this by using these programs to install files or change settings on your computer. You should always be careful about which programs you allow to run on your computer.

Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop)

• You’ll be notified before programs make changes to your computer that require administrator permissions.

• You won’t be notified if you try to make changes to Windows settings that require administrator permissions.

• You’ll be notified if a program outside of Windows tries to make changes to a Windows setting.

• This setting is the same as "Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer," but you’re not notified on the secure desktop.

• Because the UAC dialog box isn’t on the secure desktop with this setting, other programs might be able to interfere with the visual appearance of the dialog box. This is a small security risk if you already have a malicious program running on your computer.

Never notify

• You won’t be notified before any changes are made to your computer. If you’re logged on as an administrator, programs can make changes to your computer without you knowing about it.

• If you’re logged on as a standard user, any changes that require the permissions of an administrator will automatically be denied.

• If you select this setting, you’ll need to restart the computer to complete the process of turning off UAC. Once UAC is off, people that log on as administrator will always have the permissions of an administrator.

• This is the least secure setting. When you set UAC to never notify, you open up your computer to potential security risks.

• If you set UAC to never notify, you should be careful about which programs you run, because they’ll have the same access to the computer as you do. This includes reading and making changes to protected system areas, your personal data, saved files, and anything else stored on the computer. Programs will also be able to communicate and transfer information to and from anything your computer connects with, including the Internet.

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Richard Hay  (3358 Posts)

Richard is the Owner of WindowsObserver.com and has been involved in tech for over 25 years. His first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then he used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and what you see here today is the result of the work he has continued on the site since 1995. In January 2010 his community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when he was awarded the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for Windows Desktop Experience. In January 2011 he was renewed as a Microsoft MVP but in a new category called Windows Expert - Consumer and in January 2012 he received the award for the third time.