Is it safe to turn UAC *ON* ???

  • Thread starter Thread starter notachance
  • Start date Start date
N

notachance

When I got this laptop, we got expert advice regarding all those
popups -- and were told to turn UAC *OFF*. That solved the problem.

However, I'm getting more familiar with Vista, and wonder if it
makes sense to turn UAC back ON. There was a warning somewhere
that some apps might not work properly if they were installed
with UAC OFF.

???
 
Without knowing what those pop-ups actually were, I am left to assume they
were the one that the UAC throws up.

As annoying as I find them, I prefer to leave them there, both as a reminder
to me in case I do something stoopid (always likely), and as a means of
getting a warning if something other than me tries to do something.

R.
 
notachance said:
When I got this laptop, we got expert advice regarding all those popups --
and were told to turn UAC *OFF*. That solved the problem.

However, I'm getting more familiar with Vista, and wonder if it makes
sense to turn UAC back ON. There was a warning somewhere that some apps
might not work properly if they were installed with UAC OFF.
Click to expand...

It is unsafe to turn UAC off, so yes it should be on.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*
 
If you install programs with UAC off and they are older incompatible program
turning UAC back on "may" cause a problem. In most cases all that happens is
you lose any customizable user settings you may have changed. In very rare
cases the program may need to be reinstalled. UAC on is the recommended
state. I would turn it on and see what happens. The worst that will happen
is some programs may not work as expected. Turning it back off should get
you right back to where you are now.
 
Generally it is safe and best to leave UAC on.
Once my computers were set up as I wanted, I rarely see UAC prompts.
The few times I see them are expected.

A few older programs may have problems with UAC while others may have
problems with UAC disabled.

UAC helps give the user more control since programs are limited in
what they can do without your permission.
 
notachance said:
When I got this laptop, we got expert advice regarding all those
popups -- and were told to turn UAC *OFF*. That solved the problem.
Click to expand...

That was not necessarily complete advice. If you're referring to the
warning popups asking your permission to proceed, it may be a good
idea to turn off UAC when you first get a new computer and you're
busily removing the "crapware" the manufacturer installed and
installing your own software but when that phase of setting up the
computer is finished you should turn UAC back on for the additional
protection it offers. There are a few programs, Adobe reader is one,
that won't even install unless UAC is ON!
However, I'm getting more familiar with Vista, and wonder if it
makes sense to turn UAC back ON. There was a warning somewhere
that some apps might not work properly if they were installed
with UAC OFF.
Click to expand...

One big problem is that apps installed with UAC off may require
administrator rights to run and may be startup items. When you turn on
UAC, they'll be blocked every time you start the computer which is very
annoying. The fix is to remove these items from startup and set up
your task scheduler to start them. Here's the instructions on how to
do that:

http://blog.gerke-preussner.de/inde...cking-Elevated-Startup-Programs-in-Vista.html
 
Back
Top