Enhanced User Account Control in Windows 7
 




Enhanced User Account Control (UAC) in Windows 7


Published
:
October 15, 2009
Last Updated : October 15, 2009
     
Introduction

With Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced a new feature called User Account Control (UAC). UAC helps prevent potentially harmful programs from making changes to your computer. Unfortunately, it was one of the most annoying features in Windows Vista as it was continuously showing its dialog box asking for user's permission to accept the changes and continue or cancel it.... this led many people to turn off this feature the moment they touch a Vista machine. However, With Windows 7, Microsoft did hear to us, the customers, and changed the way User Account Control works, but keeping in mind enhanced security and ease-of-use.

Here is a reminder of UAC dialog box :


With Windows Vista, a user only had two options to follow with User Account Control, either keep it On or completely Off.   Whereas with Windows 7, users have more control on UAC, now we can set UAC to our preferred level or even disable it completely, plus the UAC user interface provides more information about each level.

 

To configure UAC, follow the below steps :

  1. Click on Start   > then click on Control Panel



  2. From the Control Panel page, click on System and Security



  3. Under the Action Center, click on Change User Account Control settings



    alternatively, to open UAC, click on Start , then type uac inside the Search programs and files textbox
  4. The User Account Control Settings window will open, as you can see, by default it is set to notify you whenever a program tries to make changes to your computer.



  5. You can alter the default level using the slider, going up with the slider will give more level of protection but more pop up dialog boxes will be displayed for you asking for your permission to continue.




    going down with the slider, one level below the Default level, in this level, the UAC will notify you with changes but will not dim your desktop.



    To     turn UAC Off, go with the slider till the bottom where it says Never notify then click on OK, confirm the changes by clicking on OK with the UAC dialog box. A message will be display that you will have to restart your machine so that changes ( Turning UAC Off ) take effect.





 

The following table which can be found in Windows Help and Support, provides you with a description of the UAC settings and the potential impact of each setting on the security of your computer.

Setting

Description

Security impact

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.

 

Summary

Overall, the UAC experience is more improved in Windows 7 than it was in Windows Vista, and most users will keep it Turned ON this time with Windows 7 and keep the default level, which provides a mix of protection and ease-of-use.

 

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