Frustrated with UAc

[Guest]

I've become very frustreated with the UAC. Is Microsoft going to fix the
bugs in Vista and make it as reliable and user friendly as XP has become? I
resent not being able to have my computer do what I want my computer to do
without being second guessed. My chidren have grown up and my security needs
were being addressed by SP2 in XP and the anti-virus I had installed with it.
This is a new computer that came with Vista. I must say that if it weren't
for the UAC I'd love it. The graphics are spectacular and to be honest If it
weren't for that frustrating UAC it would have been a fantastic product for
Microsoft! Most of the gamers and recreational computer people I know are
holding off until it becomes as good an OS as XP has been. Only employers
that don't trust their employees would want to restrict someone to this
degree and that is not my case.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Then simply disable UAC:
Start/Run
Type "msconfig" ENTER
Click Tools tab scroll down to "Disable UAC"
Click it to highlight.
Click Launch button follower by OK.

UAC comes up more often during initial setup and when installing.
I rarely see the UAC prompts anymore.

Poorly written often older programs is a common cause of the UAC
message.
Another cause is malware attempting unauthorized actions, in Windows
XP, this can happen without any notification.

 

[f/fgeorge]

I've become very frustreated with the UAC. Is Microsoft going to fix the
bugs in Vista and make it as reliable and user friendly as XP has become? I
resent not being able to have my computer do what I want my computer to do
without being second guessed. My chidren have grown up and my security needs
were being addressed by SP2 in XP and the anti-virus I had installed with it.
This is a new computer that came with Vista. I must say that if it weren't
for the UAC I'd love it. The graphics are spectacular and to be honest If it
weren't for that frustrating UAC it would have been a fantastic product for
Microsoft! Most of the gamers and recreational computer people I know are
holding off until it becomes as good an OS as XP has been. Only employers
that don't trust their employees would want to restrict someone to this
degree and that is not my case.

Ummm Windows is simply moving towards a more Apple like environment,
emaning much more secure. Part of the reason you don't see so many
Apple viruses and trojans is because they are not as easy to get into.
XP is WIDE OPEN to anything and anyone that knows how, hence the
bi-weekly computer updates to fix major holes in the OS. Vista is
trying to let you know what is going on when you or a virues or trojan
do something. If you are still getting slammed, maybe you need to
check out what is really going on. After a week or so each pc should
be setup and not have very many UAC incidents at all. Maybe you have a
trojan or virus that is causing you 'issues'. Or maybe someone is
trying to get in to your pc's?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"bi-weekly computer updates"
Not quite, they are monthly, the 2nd Tuesday of each month.
Exceptions are made for something deemed more urgent.

 

[Steve Thackery]

I wonder why you are getting so many UAC prompts. After the first couple of
weeks (when I was installing all my software and setting everything up as I
want it) I hardly get any.

In fact, I'm rather glad that Vista warns me when something with security
implications is about to happen.

Are you running some non-compatible software?

SteveT

 

[Guest]

I don't know how you MVP's listen to all of this crying about security that
is in place to protect them from themselves.
hahaha

 

[Mark]

UAC doesn't protect you from anything. It's the decision to read the message
and not simply click Allow in frustation that protects you. (Just like your
firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware/adware/malware...) If it can't do it's
job without constantly nagging you, it's garbage.

If it frustrates you, it won't protect you.
It's a crock.

Use common sense.
Make backups.

 

[Steve Thackery]

UAC doesn't protect you from anything. It's the decision to read the

message
and not simply click Allow in frustation that protects you. (Just like
your
firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware/adware/malware...) If it can't do it's
job without constantly nagging you, it's garbage.

If it frustrates you, it won't protect you.
It's a crock.

Is Linux a crock, too, then? Because UAC is very similar indeed to the
elevation prompts you get in Linux when you want to fiddle with system
settings.

SteveT

 

[Mark]

Don't know. I don't use Linux.
My tinkering days are over.
Now, I try to get work done.

You almost sent me down a long tirade, but I withdrew. What's the point?

Honestly, I don't have a beef with UAC. If you want to be that interactive
with your Operating System, Firewall, Anti-Virus, multiple Anti-Spyware,
Rookit Anaylzer, etc. at home instead of getting work done, go for it.

The point was, and is:
If it frustrates you, it won't protect you because you will simply click
Allow, Continue or Ignore and proceed. That makes it garbage.

 

[Mark]

If UAC were installed on a car:

Insert keys in ignition switch and rotate to Start position
The windows automatically darken, the door locks engage.
Finally, a prompt appears on the speedometer glass:
"Your car is being started. If you are the owner, press Continue."

Yep, it's that good! Imagine how safe your car will be from thievery!
But, if you don't like this feature, you can always open the hood and flip a
jumper on the computer box so you will no longer be prompted during starts
unless you use your remote starter or your wife's key.
But, everytime you start the car, you will get a "dinging" bell about once
a minute to let you know the jumper is in the wrong position.

 

[Robert Moir]

Ummm Windows is simply moving towards a more Apple like environment,

You're kidding aren't you? For all their many faults, Apple wouldn't release
an OS that behaved like Vista, except possibly as a limited special edition
on April 1st.

 

[Bill]

If UAC were installed on a car:

Insert keys in ignition switch and rotate to Start position
The windows automatically darken, the door locks engage.
Finally, a prompt appears on the speedometer glass:
"Your car is being started. If you are the owner, press Continue."

Yep, it's that good! Imagine how safe your car will be from thievery!
But, if you don't like this feature, you can always open the hood and
flip a
jumper on the computer box so you will no longer be prompted during
starts
unless you use your remote starter or your wife's key.
But, everytime you start the car, you will get a "dinging" bell
about once
a minute to let you know the jumper is in the wrong position.

UAC does have its uses. If you create limited user accounts for all the
users on the computer, including yourself, then the UAC is handy because
it forces a user to enter an admin password to install/remove programs,
etc. The parental controls are also handy to limit access to the
computer and the internet.

Having said that, I disabled UAC for admin accounts so I don't have to
put up with the prompts when I'm doing something on the desktop
computer, which is usually installing a new program or changing
settings. The rest of the time I work on my laptop where I'm the only
user and the prompts are disabled there too so I can get work done
without the hassles.

Someone made a comparison to linux, but it's not quite the same thing
where the security features tend to make more sense and are less
annoying. I have several programs that require admin access to run, even
though they're completely normal programs that should not require
elevation.

 

[DevilsPGD]

I have several programs that require admin access to run, even
though they're completely normal programs that should not require
elevation.

Such as?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"completely normal programs that should not require elevation."
They are probably older or poorly written programs.
Make sure you have the latest versions with all updates.
If you list them, someone may be able to give you a solution.

 

[Bill]

Such as?

Hey Devil, haven't been here in months (busy with work). Good to see
you're still helping us dolts.

As the other poster mentioned, two of the programs are older and try to
write to the Registry without permission, so they have to be elevated in
order to remember customized settings.

One is a more recent program called Core Temp which Vista would ask if
it's safe to run, even though it was written long after Vista was
released and it's safe to run (can't harm anything). Another is a virus
scanner (Avast) that asks for permission, but I'm guessing that's a
security feature to make sure it's not disabled by accident.

Not really whining about these little things, just find them more
annoying than they should be.