Survey: User Account Control in your everyday work

[Anil Yadav [MSFT]]

I would like to solicit your input about User Account Control ("UAC") in
Windows Vista as part of your daily work. Kindly consider the following:

1. In your everyday work, do you come across any UAC prompts?

2. If you answered "Yes" to (1), then:
a. How often do you see the UAC prompts?

b. What kinds of tasks / actions you do that result in UAC
prompt?

c. Do you do anything to reduce the UAC prompts you see?

d. If you would like to see fewer UAC prompts, what kind of
solution would be ideal for you?

3. If you answered "No" to (1), then:
a. Do you know why you don't see them?

4. How much of your everyday work involves doing computer configuration /
installation / maintenance / admin types of tasks?

Thanks a lot for your time.

 

[Dave]

I just turned it off. Too irritating too often. Perhaps after I'm all done
configureing installing etc. I may turn back on again for a while to see if
still bothersome in day to day operation but since I am doing development
I'm guessing it won't stay on long.

- Dave

 

[DanR]

What is it protecting me from? Why for example do I get the "permission"
prompt when I want to load device manager? The screen darkens and I click
"continue". Obviously if I click device manager that's what I want to do.
What does this layer accomplish.
Could it be that malware might be smart enough to try to get at my device
manager but UAC somehow prevents this by requiring that extra mouse click?
Folks might be more forgiving if they knew and understood exactly why / what
UAC is doing.

 

[Dave]

Yes that is the idea behind UAC - to keep malware from automating certain
processes. Most security issues are users shooting themselves in the foot
because the run malware via email or the web and it runs as the logged on
user which is normal an admin.

- Dave

 

[DanR]

Is it supposed to make folks think twice before clicking here and there? In
some cases UAC just won't let you do what you think you want to do but other
times all you have to do is click "continue". I believe people are just
clicking continue without giving it much thought.

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

You'll understand what it does the first time you are watcjing a video on
youtube and UAC pops up and states:

xyz want's to install badboytrojan.exe

Continue?

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

 

[Dave]

Yes, that's the danger with this sort of scheme - getting used to just
saying CONTINUE. Best to keep up to date on patches, be careful what you are
doing have decent AV software and make backups...Dave

 

[Doris Day - MVP]

You'll understand what it does the first time you are watcjing a video on
youtube and UAC pops up and states:

xyz want's to install badboytrojan.exe

Continue?

Doesn't happen with a real operating system. Does this happen often with
Windoze Fista?

Love and Kisses,
Doris

 

[Not Me]

I turned it off before I ever got all my software installed.
When I pop the Office XP CD in the drive & get a prompt, I think... If MS
doesn't recognize it's own installer.....
I got it repeatedly on everything I tried to install or run.
Maybe a good concept, but far from useable IMHO
I just want my computer to work, I don't want AERO, sliding menus,
shadowing, ad nauseum.
They have art galleries (and beaches) for 'pretty'.
Adjust for best performance...apply
Use Classic menus...apply
That should be the default. Those who want style over substance should have
to add it, not force me to pay for it & shut it off!

 

[Kerry Brown]

I would like to solicit your input about User Account Control ("UAC") in
Windows Vista as part of your daily work. Kindly consider the following:

1. In your everyday work, do you come across any UAC prompts?
Yes


2. If you answered "Yes" to (1), then:
a. How often do you see the UAC prompts?

Every time I try to sync my Palm device.

b. What kinds of tasks / actions you do that result in UAC
prompt?

Run an old version of Palm Hotsync that mus run in comatibility mode.

c. Do you do anything to reduce the UAC prompts you see?

Try to use Vista compatible programs.

d. If you would like to see fewer UAC prompts, what kind of
solution would be ideal for you?

It would be nice to be able to say don't show me any more UAC prompts for
this program. At the same time there has to be some way that the program is
actually checked to make sure it is the same.

3. If you answered "No" to (1), then:
a. Do you know why you don't see them?

4. How much of your everyday work involves doing computer configuration /
installation / maintenance / admin types of tasks?

Not much once the system is setup and running day to day tasks.

 

[John Waser]

Non issue as we have moved all our clients off Microsoft product to more
stable and reliable and much less expensive platform.

 

[Julian]

Non issue as we have moved all our clients off Microsoft product to more
stable and reliable and much less expensive platform.

....to ensure clients can always access Microsoft communities.

 

[Jan Hyde (VB MVP)]

"Anil Yadav [MSFT]" <[email protected]>'s wild
thoughts were released on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:43:19 -0700
bearing the following fruit:

I would like to solicit your input about User Account Control ("UAC") in
Windows Vista as part of your daily work. Kindly consider the following:

1. In your everyday work, do you come across any UAC prompts?
Yes.

2. If you answered "Yes" to (1), then:
a. How often do you see the UAC prompts?

Every hour at least.

b. What kinds of tasks / actions you do that result in UAC
prompt?

I'm a sotware developer and need to run my development
environment and certain tools as administrator.

c. Do you do anything to reduce the UAC prompts you see?

I set the shortcut to run as admin so I only get one prompt
instead of two.

d. If you would like to see fewer UAC prompts, what kind of
solution would be ideal for you?

They don't bother me. I'd rather have them than have
programs altering my system without my permission.

3. If you answered "No" to (1), then:
a. Do you know why you don't see them?

4. How much of your everyday work involves doing computer configuration /
installation / maintenance / admin types of tasks?

A lot.

J

 

[GreenWing]

1. In your everyday work, do you come across any UAC prompts?

Yes...Many, many (too many) times...

2. If you answered "Yes" to (1), then:
a. How often do you see the UAC prompts?

Constantly for a lot of programs I use on a regular basis...

b. What kinds of tasks / actions you do that result in UAC
prompt?

Using task manager (showing tasks for all users)...Acronis backup
daily...SQL server, etc...older programs that will never be updated to
specifically address Vista UAC...

c. Do you do anything to reduce the UAC prompts you see?

Setting compatability mode and using run as administrator, but still get
prompted...

d. If you would like to see fewer UAC prompts, what kind of
solution would be ideal for you?

Ideally, there should be some mechanism in place to see that I have already
been prompted and approved running an application EXE/DLL...Norton
anti-virus can do that...UAC should be able to only prompt if the .EXE or
..DLL was changed since the last time I was prompted...

It would also be nice to see the exact reason a prompt is being presented...

3. If you answered "No" to (1), then:
a. Do you know why you don't see them?

4. How much of your everyday work involves doing computer configuration /
installation / maintenance / admin types of tasks?

Very little once everything is installed and configured...

 

[Iuvenalis]

I would like to solicit your input about User Account Control ("UAC") in
Windows Vista as part of your daily work. Kindly consider the following:

1. In your everyday work, do you come across any UAC prompts?

2. If you answered "Yes" to (1), then:
a. How often do you see the UAC prompts?

b. What kinds of tasks / actions you do that result in UAC
prompt?

c. Do you do anything to reduce the UAC prompts you see?

d. If you would like to see fewer UAC prompts, what kind of
solution would be ideal for you?

3. If you answered "No" to (1), then:
a. Do you know why you don't see them?

4. How much of your everyday work involves doing computer configuration /
installation / maintenance / admin types of tasks?

Thanks a lot for your time.

----
Anil Yadav
Microsoft Corporation
Windows CoreUX Team
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

I don't get any in my everyday work.

 

[GreenWing]

Why aren't more folks responding to this survey?

Seems like a good opportunity to let Microsoft have some helpful input on
UAC...

 

[Les]

Why aren't more folks responding to this survey?

Seems like a good opportunity to let Microsoft have some helpful input on
UAC...

I hate it! I don't know much, but I managed to run XP from it's first
release until now without any security problems - suddenly, I *have* to put
up with what MS think I want/need. Not on at all! There should be a means of
choosing to have the new 'high security' or, switch off the parts you don't
want or need.

Home users do not need the same level of security that a large business
network may need. I managed for years with only freely available
virus/firewall/malware programs and a bit of common sense.

Why not have a 'security level' gauge that an administrator can set the
level required. Best of both worlds.

Remember - *administrator* - the one who should be able to set all of the
computer users preferences! Instead of some jumped up new
super-administrator or whatever the new name for *administrator* is today.

What's next? The next OS from MS may need an IT tech just to switch it on!
MS needs to remember who the administrators are - they are often the
buyers/owners of the systems!

--
regards,
Les Hay, Livingston, Scotland



---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 000736-2, 26/04/2007
Tested on: 27/04/2007 17:49:07
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com

 

[Dave R.]

Why aren't more folks responding to this survey?

Seems like a good opportunity to let Microsoft have some helpful input
on UAC...

As soon as I start using Vista as my primary workstation (should have
that system in a couple of weeks) I plan on it. But right now, I'm just
evaluating what has to be done to get some of our software working, what
OS settings we need to deploy with it, etc. Not exactly a situation
where my feedback would be mainstream enough to be useful.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Jovino Margathe]

we can turn it off, can't we? so why bother it? just turn it off..

 

[Les]

we can turn it off, can't we? so why bother it? just turn it off..

Then, the security center wants to flash warning

--
regards,
Les Hay, Livingston, Scotland



---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 000736-2, 26/04/2007
Tested on: 27/04/2007 19:53:35
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com