Hello,
what is the big deal about this
UAC for true network admins?
Immediate benefits for admins:
- Programs that you run that don't need admin privs, don't get it. Do you
really want notepad running around with privileges to format all of the hard
drives in your entire domain?
- Programs that NEED admin privs will automatically ask you for this
privilege - this means you now know exactly which programs you are running
that use admin privs, and which ones don't.
- You can easily force a program to use admin privs that doesn't ask for it
by right-clicking and clicking Run As Administrator (for those times when
you want to use notepad to modify system files, or format hard drives)
There's really no sense in allowing all programs you run to have complete
control of your domain when they don't need such power. You are still a
full-fledged administrator; but Windows now realizes that programs don't
need all of your rights and privileges all of the time. YOU now control how
programs can use them.
Benefits for the users you administer:
- The compatability features of UAC (virtualization for example) will help
applications that assume they are an administrator to run properly under
their standard user account.
- When users attempt to do an action that requires administrator privileges
in a Vista-designed application, you can set up their workstation so that it
tells the user this and asks for an admin login, instead of just "access
denied". This should make it easier for your users to understand why they
can't do something (it needs admin approval) and easier for you to approve
the action (you can just walk to the machine and authenticate - the prompt
is up and waiting for you).
Long-term benefits of UAC:
- Programs will be re-designed so that they will work correctly when running
as a standard user, because if they don't, they won't work correctly in
Vista, even under an administrator account. This means if your company has
standard users running as true standard users, Vista-designed software
should "just work" in this environment, instead of you having to hope that
the application was properly designed.
This should result in better designed software that follows Microsoft's
recommendations, which should end up creating an environment that is easier
to administer and much more secure.