UAC is a very important security function in Windows systems, which means User Account Control or, in Italian, User Account Control . This setting is present both in Windoas 10 and in Windows 7 and 8 and basically serves to prevent the execution of malicious software on the PC .
Before Vista, with Windows XP, this security mechanism was absent so a malware could run automatically without restrictions causing problems to the PC.
Today, every time you run an executable file (.EXE) or any installed program that changes your PC settings, an authorization warning appears (which says " Do you want to allow this app to make changes to the device"> allow or deny to that plan to move forward.
For example, one type of change to authorize is the launch of a full screen program or game, which brings up the UAC screen.
While it is advisable to always keep this security check active, it can be tedious for some to always have to click OK in the authorization window and want to disable it completely.
READ ALSO: guide to Windows permissions and the error Access denied
Underlying this check is the fact that Windows is configured so that the primary user does not have administrator privileges.
This fact is not wrong because, in fact, on Windows XP, when you create a new user, he is an administrator (unless you limit him manually) and he can do everything
On this we have dedicated a dedicated article on How User Account Control works in Windows (UAC) .
To manage the notification options for programs that make changes to the computer (in Windows 10, Windows 7 and 8) and control every software execution preventing the malicious ones from activating themselves, you have to open the Control Panel in Categories view, press on User Account and then again on the word User Account .
Here you will find links to User Account Control Settings .
In the alert control window there are 4 security levels:
1) Notification is always the tighter control option, which affects not only the execution of programs and software, but also the modification of Windows settings.
2) Notify only when an app tries to make changes on the computer, which is the default recommended by Microsoft.
3) Notifies only when an app tries to make changes on the computer, with the difference that in the previous option the desktop becomes unusable when the warning appears, while with this third level the desktop remains usable.
4) No notification
The last option is the one that disables user account control and no longer displays authorization notices for running programs.
The advice is to never disable UAC control and program execution warnings, unless you are sure of running known programs and if you never download anything from the internet.
Protection in running Windows software is one of the most important security measures of the system, without which any malicious software could take command of the computer and cause serious problems.
However, the third option may be a better option than the default, the one that warns if a program wants to make changes, but without blocking the use of the computer, while still leaving the desktop and applications open.
The UAC check and the program execution warning is different than the Smartscreen filter, another security feature that instead checks for malicious apps.
We talked about this in two different articles:
- Disable Windows Smartscreen exe file lock
- What does the Smartscreen process do in Windows 10 and 8.1
To disable the UAC password request, open the registry key editor (type regedit in the Start menu, right-click on it and open it as an administrator).
Open the path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System
Change the ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin value to 0 .
If you want the password required instead, the value must be 1.
The value 5 is the default.
