Microsoft has made the implementation of the User Account Control settings much friendlier on Windows 8/10. After getting feedback that in Windows Vista, that the User Account Control or UAC prompt would often irritate users, due to its frequent appearance, Microsoft in Windows 7 reduced the appearance of the UAC prompts and further polished and improved upon the UAC user experience in Windows 10/8.
User Account Control in Windows 10
Open the Control Panel in Windows 10. Set the View by option to Large icons, and then click User Accounts. Click on the Change User Account Control settings link. In order to turn off UAC, move the slider to the bottom (Never Notify) and click OK. If you want to turn on UAC. User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations. The User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations policy setting controls whether application write failures are redirected to defined registry and file system locations.
The User Account Control basically notifies you before changes are made to your PC – not all changes, but only those which require Administrator level permissions. These changes could have been initiated by the user, by the operation system, by a genuine software – or even malware! Every time such an administrator level change is initiated, Windows UAC will prompt the user for approval or denial. If the user approves the change, the change is made; in not, no changes are made to the system. Till such a time that the UAC appears, the screen may go dark.
Broadly speaking, the following are some of the actions which may trigger a UAC prompt:
- Install or Uninstall of applications
- Changing Firewall settings
- Installing Drivers & ActiveX controls
- Installing/Configuring Windows Update
- Adding/Removing/Changing user accounts/types
- Accessing, Viewing or Changing another User’s files & folders
- Configuring Parental Controls
- Running the Task Scheduler
- Restoring backup system files
- And even while changing UAC settings
Its default settings are:
Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer
Whenever the UAC Consent Prompt appears and asks for your permission, you may have noticed that it darkens the screen and temporarily turns off the Aero interface – and it appears without the transparency. This is called Secure Desktop and is a security feature in Windows. The credential prompt is presented when a standard user attempts to perform a task that requires a user’s administrative access token.
The UAC elevation prompts are color-coded to be application-specific, enabling for immediate identification of an application’s potential security risk.
Change User Account Control settings
If you wish, you can change User Account Control settings in Windows 8. You can change its behavior and decide how often or when all, the UAC should notify you.
To do so, open Control Panel and select User Accounts.
Click on Change User Account Control settings. The settings box will open.
Use the vertical slider to change the settings. The changes you make will impact your security settings, so while its best to leave the User Account Control settings at its default, you should be aware of how the changes in the UAC setting will impact your Windows PC’s security.
Setting | Description | Security impact |
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Always notify me |
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Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default) |
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Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (don’t dim my desktop) |
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Never notify me |
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If you are using an accessibility device, such as a screen reader, Microsoft recommends that you choose either the Always notify or the Default – Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer UAC setting, since Assistive technologies work best with these two settings.
Disable UAC using the Windows Registry
To do so, open regedit and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem
Change the value of EnableLUA key, from its default 1 to Value data 0. This will disable the UAC.
You can read more about all the UAC Group Policy Settings and Registry Key Settings here at TechNet.
Disable User Account Control for certain applications only
While you should not disable the UAC prompts for the whole computer, you may want to disable it for certain applications. Using the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit and following the steps below, you can disable the UAC prompts for one or more specific applications which you trust. This will NOT disable the User Account Control feature for the whole computer.
- Create a system restore point first.
- Download and install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.
- In the Start menu, locate the new folder. Find the shortcut icon for Compatibility Administrator. Right click it and click Run as administrator.
- In the left-hand pane, right-click on the database under Custom Databases and select Create New, and select Application Fix.
- Enter the name and other details of the application you want to alter behavior on and then browse to it to select it. Click Next.
- Click Next until you are in the Compatibility Fixes screen.
- On the Compatibility Fixes screen, find the item RunAsInvoker, and check it.
- Click Next and then Finish.
- Select File and Save As. Save the file as a filename.SDB type file in a directory you will easily find it.
- Copy the <filename>.sdb file to the Vista computer you want to alter the elevation prompt behavior on.
- Open a Command Prompt as administrator.
- Run the command: sdbinst <path><filename>.sdb
- For example, if you saved the .SDB file as abc.sdb in the c:Windows folder, the command should be like this: sdbinst c:windowsabc.sdb
- It should prompt: Installation of <name> complete.
Have a great day!
Check this if you cannot change User Account Control (UAC) settings.
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-->Applies to
- Windows 10
- Windows Server 2016
User Account Control (UAC) helps prevent malware from damaging a PC and helps organizations deploy a better-managed desktop. With UAC, apps and tasks always run in the security context of a non-administrator account, unless an administrator specifically authorizes administrator-level access to the system. UAC can block the automatic installation of unauthorized apps and prevent inadvertent changes to system settings.
UAC allows all users to log on to their computers using a standard user account. Processes launched using a standard user token may perform tasks using access rights granted to a standard user. For instance, Windows Explorer automatically inherits standard user level permissions. Additionally, any apps that are started using Windows Explorer (for example, by double-clicking a shortcut) also run with the standard set of user permissions. Many apps, including those that are included with the operating system itself, are designed to work properly in this way.
Other apps, especially those that were not specifically designed with security settings in mind, often require additional permissions to run successfully. These types of apps are referred to as legacy apps. Additionally, actions such as installing new software and making configuration changes to the Windows Firewall, require more permissions than what is available to a standard user account.
When an app needs to run with more than standard user rights, UAC can restore additional user groups to the token. This enables the user to have explicit control of apps that are making system level changes to their computer or device.
Practical applications
Admin Approval Mode in UAC helps prevent malware from silently installing without an administrator's knowledge. It also helps protect from inadvertent system-wide changes. Lastly, it can be used to enforce a higher level of compliance where administrators must actively consent or provide credentials for each administrative process.
In this section
Disable User Account Control Windows 10 Via Registry
Topic | Description |
---|---|
How User Account Control works | User Account Control (UAC) is a fundamental component of Microsoft's overall security vision. UAC helps mitigate the impact of malware. |
User Account Control security policy settings | You can use security policies to configure how User Account Control works in your organization. They can be configured locally by using the Local Security Policy snap-in (secpol.msc) or configured for the domain, OU, or specific groups by Group Policy. |
User Account Control Group Policy and registry key settings | Here's a list of UAC Group Policy and registry key settings that your organization can use to manage UAC. |