Please explain a few things about UAC to me

[thetruthhurts]

I find UAC extremely irritating with all of its pop ups and have
turned it off. If I turn it back on will the number of popups
eventually decrease.........i.e. does UAC learn as time goes on?

Also one of things I'm struggling with is that over numerous years on
XP, through good AV and anti-spyware software I never had a problem in
terms of a trojans/virus etc. Is there something that makes Vista
weaker in terms of security as compared to XP and that is why UAC is
needed?

Finally if someone can point me to a site that covers UAC and Vista
security in plain english (i.e. not MS techno babble) I would
appreciate it.

 

[Mike Brannigan]

I find UAC extremely irritating with all of its pop ups and have
turned it off. If I turn it back on will the number of popups
eventually decrease.........i.e. does UAC learn as time goes on?

No - of course not - if an virus could masquerade as an app yurt flawed UAC
had learned to always Yes to then the point of UAC would be defeated.
SO no - you get the same amount all the time.

Also one of things I'm struggling with is that over numerous years on
XP, through good AV and anti-spyware software I never had a problem in
terms of a trojans/virus etc. Is there something that makes Vista
weaker in terms of security as compared to XP and that is why UAC is
needed?

No Vista is as good or better then XP. UAC is extra protection in these
times of rapid day zero style attacks et.

Finally if someone can point me to a site that covers UAC and Vista
security in plain english (i.e. not MS techno babble) I would
appreciate it.

The is lots of coverage of UAC on the Microsoft web site - if you read it
and believe it is Microsoft techno babble then maybe you should leave UAC
switched on as you may not be technically competent to run without it.

 

[thetruthhurts]

No - of course not - if an virus could masquerade as an app yurt flawed UAC
had learned to always Yes to then the point of UAC would be defeated.
SO no - you get the same amount all the time.

Well that by itself makes UAC worthless. What a waste of productivity
clicking away for the rest of ones days when on a PC.

No Vista is as good or better then XP. UAC is extra protection in these
times of rapid day zero style attacks et.


The is lots of coverage of UAC on the Microsoft web site - if you read it
and believe it is Microsoft techno babble then maybe you should leave UAC
switched on as you may not be technically competent to run without it.

Rather than a misguided arrogant attack, do you know of any site
besides MS? They are biased and their cya detailed approach to
documenting things is not what I am looking for in this case.
Something a little more bottom line and unbiased. Or are you not that
well read?

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

You shouldn't be doing things that cause a UAC prompt every day. At the
beginning while you're getting the machine set up it will appear fairly
often, but after that it should be relatively rare.

 

[Rock]

I find UAC extremely irritating with all of its pop ups and have
turned it off. If I turn it back on will the number of popups
eventually decrease.........i.e. does UAC learn as time goes on?

No, not by learning. UAC is simple. If a progam runs that requests admin
privileges, then UAC prompts you to see if you intended for that program to
run. It is giving you control. An OS has no way to ascertain your intent.
It can't know you intended that program that wants admin privileges to run.
I don't know about you but I _want_ to know when an app is running that
wants admin rights. I _want_ to authorize it to run. I don't want the
system to assume everything is fine. I _want_ the control.

Yes the number of prompts does decrease from when you are first setting up
the system. Prompts are more frequent with program installation.

What you need to do is question why do the programs you're running need
admin privileges. Most do not. But in XP days software authors wrote
programs to run as admin even though it wasn't needed. Moving those apps to
Vista they ask for admin privileges to run.

Properly coded apps won't do that in Vista. Look for updates to your apps
that run properly in Vista or for a replacement that doesn't need admin
privileges.

Another issue to question is why does this app that needs admin privileges
have to run every time the computer is booted. You don't need the update
software for so many of your apps checking for updates on boot up. Many of
these also improperly are asking for admin privileges, hence the blocked
programs notification at start up. Remove them from starting.

I get very few UAC prompts now.

Also one of things I'm struggling with is that over numerous years on
XP, through good AV and anti-spyware software I never had a problem in
terms of a trojans/virus etc. Is there something that makes Vista
weaker in terms of security as compared to XP and that is why UAC is
needed?

Running as an admin is not needed for most things, but in XP's case it was
the norm. Vista is moving users away from the concept of running as admin.
That's what UAC does. It's a good thing.

Finally if someone can point me to a site that covers UAC and Vista
security in plain english (i.e. not MS techno babble) I would
appreciate it.

Sure, knowledge of what UAC is and how it works is helpful for you to
realize it's worth. Here are some links:

http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jes...-about-vista-features-what-uac-really-is.aspx

http://www.jimmah.com/vista/security/uac.aspx

http://technet2.microsoft.com/Windo...8514-4c9e-ac08-4c21f5c6c2d91033.mspx?mfr=true

 

[Wayne McGlinn]

I find UAC extremely irritating with all of its pop ups and have
turned it off. If I turn it back on will the number of popups
eventually decrease.........i.e. does UAC learn as time goes on?

Also one of things I'm struggling with is that over numerous years on
XP, through good AV and anti-spyware software I never had a problem in
terms of a trojans/virus etc. Is there something that makes Vista
weaker in terms of security as compared to XP and that is why UAC is
needed?

Finally if someone can point me to a site that covers UAC and Vista
security in plain english (i.e. not MS techno babble) I would
appreciate it.

http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jes...-about-vista-features-what-uac-really-is.aspx

Wayne McGlinn
Brisbane, Oz

 

[Steve Thackery]

I agree with the other posters. I'm puzzled as to why you're seeing so many
UAC prompts.

I got plenty when I was first setting up my system, installing programs and
so on. But now they are very rare and no bother at all.

Steve

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

If you are "clicking away for the rest of ones days when on a PC".
One of several things is happening and a few are:
1. Initial setup of the computer causes many prompts as admin rights
are required.
2. You are using either older programs or poorly written programs
that demand admin rights when the writer should have coded the program
better.

I rarely see UAC any more.

The computer has no way of knowing if you started the process that
triggered the admin requirement or malware is causing it.
The UAC prompt gives toy the chance to verify you want the program to
run.
In Windows XP and other OSs, the malware would simply run with no
indication to the user.
In the end, UAC gives the user more control.