What is UAC (User Account Control)

What is UAC?

UAC (User Account Control) is the most visible security feature in Windows Vista. UAC chimes in whenever someone tries to execute a system administrative task and asks for the permission of an administrator. Usually UAC is triggered by installing and uninstalling applications, installing driver devices, changing settings for Windows Defender, configuring Windows Update, etc.

UAC may seem like an annoyance, but UAC is more than a pop-up. When UAC is triggered Vista places the triggering process into a virtual environment. The result is that the process can not do any damage to your computer unless you approve the UAC warning. This prevents your computer from being infected in the background, which was the primary infection method prior to Vista.

How important is UAC?

There is a lot of controversy on how necessary User Account Control is. On one hand UAC gives you a measure of security by not allowing anybody (but the administrator of the computer) to change your computer settings or install programs in the background. On the other hand Microsoft's new security feature may seem intrusive and annoying.

Keep UAC ON or OFF?

If you are the only one that uses the computer, and are an expert, it would be safe to turn UAC Off. For the average user I believe UAC is an important safety net and should be left intact. Keep in mind that UAC prevents malicious applications from silently installing on your computer (remember that I told you UAC is triggered by installing and uninstalling applications). Others will complain about the large number of UAC prompts they receive on their computer. Fortunately the UAC prompts will slow over time. Many report UAC has become helpful in protecting their computer.

How to turn UAC off

If you decide that you don’t want UAC to ask for your approval every time you do something, here’s how to turn it off:

* Click the Start orb and choose Control Panel
* Open User Accounts and Family Safety, click on User Accounts and select Turn Uses Account Control on or off
* Deselect the checkbox besides Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer, click OK and restart your computer.

There is also a program called TweakUAC, a free tool that you can use to quickly turn UAC (User Account Control) on or off, or to make UAC operate in the quiet mode.