UAC won't leave me alone

silk186

silk186

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
1,628
I've been running win10 since the consumer preview and some months ago switched to and EDU install and everything was fine. Recently UAC has turned itself back on to 'low'. I can set it to off but it turns itself back on when I restart the computer. I've tried searching google for an answer but have not found anything useful. Any suggests on how to resolve this?
 
BulletDust said:
Why would you disable UAC entirely?
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I would concur with this.
Absolutely no reason to completely turn it off.

It's set to the default setting on my Win10 machine, and the only time I get nagged is when I try to install something or run something as admin.
 
Unlike OSX and Linux that require the password be entered to allow 'admin' access, UAC only requires you to click 'Allow" - It's a minuscule inconvenience for a lot of piece of mind.

My guess is that UAC cannot be entirely disabled under Windows 10, at most you can only set it to 'low'.
 
gimp said:
I would concur with this.
Absolutely no reason to completely turn it off.

It's set to the default setting on my Win10 machine, and the only time I get nagged is when I try to install something or run something as admin.
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Nanny nags get really annoying. Really fast. I have several programs that to start need UAC and having to have everything on my computer come to a grinding halt for a nanny nag is annoying.
 
Skripka said:
Nanny nags get really annoying. Really fast. I have several programs that to start need UAC and having to have everything on my computer come to a grinding halt for a nanny nag is annoying.
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It's intention is not to be a 'nanny nag', it's intention is to prevent you running as administrator 100% of the time in an attempt to limit the cesspool of infections that plague the Windows platform. Disabling this critical system due to the fact you cannot be bothered clicking 'Allow' is quite simply ludicrous.
 
BulletDust said:
It's intention is not to be a 'nanny nag', it's intention is to prevent you running as administrator 100% of the time in an attempt to limit the cesspool of infections that plague the Windows platform. Disabling this critical system due to the fact you cannot be bothered clicking 'Allow' is quite simply ludicrous.
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You don't need superuser to ruin someones day. Some of us know how to run scriptblocking and not clicking on everything will nilly. And whether the intention is to be a nanny nag or not....that is what it is.
 
Skripka said:
You don't need superuser to ruin someones day. Some of us know how to run scriptblocking and not clicking on everything will nilly. And whether the intention is to be a nanny nag or not....that is what it is.
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However all of us are only human, opening us all up to the niggly issue of 'mistakes'.

I'm quite sure if there was a way of allowing you to run with reduced privileges most of the time while only running with escalated privileges when installing or running certain software and not having to click 'Allow' when such escalation is needed, Microsoft would have made it simpler for the average user by now. Personally I believe entering the admin password should be a requirement, but MS have to cater for the technically inept.

A 'nanny nag' is MS constantly hassling you to upgrade to Windows 10.
 
BulletDust said:
Unlike OSX and Linux that require the password be entered to allow 'admin' access, UAC only requires you to click 'Allow" - It's a minuscule inconvenience for a lot of piece of mind.

My guess is that UAC cannot be entirely disabled under Windows 10, at most you can only set it to 'low'.
Click to expand...

You can make it require a password in Windows too but that requires enabling the hidden admin account and password protecting it. I have mine set to require ctrl+alt+del too, which I programed to a single key on my keyboard. I've since disabled the password requirement because it was getting too annoying but am leaving ctrl+alt+del in place so I don't willy-nilly click ok on everything like a lot of people tend to do.

If you have pro I think you can disable UAC completely in gpedit.
 
I want to set it to the lowest setting. I run a few instances of uTorrent. The way it runs it asks permission for each instance, this is annoying as it happens every time I restart my computer for an update/driver refresh/ect.

Regardless of why, a changed option should stay changed. I want it to 'never notify'
 
You run utorrent and you want to set UAC to it's lowest setting?!

Utorrent used to have malware packaged as part of it's installer! This is just getting worse.

Setup a Linux distro in a VM, download Deluge and use that for torrenting. That way you don't have to deal with UAC or sacrifice security trying to bypass it.
 
I run 2.2.1 not the newer, adware ridden versions. If I was going to go through the trouble of running a VN and had the space and money I would set up a dedicated server.
As I have neither I will stick with something I can run in the background and still do everything else including gaming.
 
Fair enough, I still can't condone limiting UAC or disabling it altogether though - Especially on an OS such as Windows!
 
If you have issues with a few programs, change it in preferences so they run as admin.
 
AltTabbins said:
If you have issues with a few programs, change it in preferences so they run as admin.
Click to expand...

A UAC dialogue box will still pop up and you will have to click 'Allow'.

Windows is such a PIA the way everything has to run as Administrator!
 
BulletDust said:
Windows is such a PIA the way everything has to run as Administrator!
Click to expand...

Don't blame Microsoft/Windows for poor coding and design.
Applications should not need to regularly modify/create/delete files in Windows-protected folders (eg Program Files, Windows, etc)
A properly designed application will use ProgramData or the logged on user's own appdata folder(s)

Applications requiring admin? Run something like LUA Buglight to determine why, then adjust permissions accordingly if possible.
 
BulletDust said:
A UAC dialogue box will still pop up and you will have to click 'Allow'.

Windows is such a PIA the way everything has to run as Administrator!
Click to expand...

I don't see how this is a Windows problem.

Windows: Open something that requires heightened privileges - Click once enable.
OSX: Open something that requires heightened privileges - Enter in your credentials.
Linux: Open something that requires heightened privileges - Enter in your credentials and or root credentials.

If anything, Windows is the most relaxed out of every OS I've ever used.
 
AltTabbins said:
I don't see how this is a Windows problem.

Windows: Open something that requires heightened privileges - Click once enable.
OSX: Open something that requires heightened privileges - Enter in your password.
Linux: Open something that requires heightened privileges - Enter in your password.

If anything, Windows is the most relaxed out of every OS I've ever used.
Click to expand...

What makes you think I ever claimed otherwise?

Windows biggest weakness is the fact that it's too easy to install software - From every obscure corner of the interwebz....
 
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gimp said:
Don't blame Microsoft/Windows for poor coding and design.
Applications should not need to regularly modify/create/delete files in Windows-protected folders (eg Program Files, Windows, etc)
A properly designed application will use ProgramData or the logged on user's own appdata folder(s)

Applications requiring admin? Run something like LUA Buglight to determine why, then adjust permissions accordingly if possible.
Click to expand...

In a way you can blame Microsoft. The reason everything needs to run as admin under Windows is because in the early days Windows had very poor multi user support and everything ran as admin, this oversight has carried over to the present day and it seems software applications still want to run as admin or they struggle to run at all.

I've installed software packages that tell you to disable UAC on installation! WTF?!
 
lol you guys go way off subject!...I leave UAC disabled as well......THATS WHY WE USE WINDOWS! LOL We dont want or need the nags! OP may have to do a windows refresh to fix it...but my guess would be some software he installed (down loaded?) messed up UAC some how.
 
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primetime said:
lol you guys go way off subject!...I leave UAC disabled as well......THATS WHY WE USE WINDOWS! LOL We dont want or need the nags! OP may have to do a windows refresh to fix it...but my guess would be some software he installed (down loaded?) messed up UAC some how.
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Not too sure if serious here?

...I mean, Windows nags worse than any other OS in existence, especially with the advent of Windows 10 and MS trying to force everyone onto their new platform - How can you claim with a straight face 'That's why we use Windows'?

And once again, disabling UAC is a downright ludicrous thing to do - Although, like the many other Windows users present in these forums I assume you're going to claim that you haven't suffered a virus/malware or spyware infection in years knowing damn well that there's no way anyone can prove otherwise even though it in no way stands to reason.
 
BulletDust said:
Windows is such a PIA the way everything has to run as Administrator!
Click to expand...

Uhhh...the real problem here is that Utorrent requires administrator privileges in order to run. Might want to simply move on to a better client that doesn't require admin rights :/

Pretty much NONE of my programs require admin or have the UAC bug me. The only ones that do are my system diagnostics stuff, which make sense.
 
gamerk2 said:
Uhhh...the real problem here is that Utorrent requires administrator privileges in order to run. Might want to simply move on to a better client that doesn't require admin rights :/

Pretty much NONE of my programs require admin or have the UAC bug me. The only ones that do are my system diagnostics stuff, which make sense.
Click to expand...

So far this week I've dealt with an accounting package that refuses to run correctly unless it's administrator and a webcam software package who's installer insisted on me turning off UAC so it could run as administrator. Try running a standard user account instead of an Admin account 24/7 under Windows.
 
Mine seems fine.

http://i65.tinypic.com/2r2w70w.jpg
2r2w70w.jpg
 
BulletDust said:
So far this week I've dealt with an accounting package that refuses to run correctly unless it's administrator and a webcam software package who's installer insisted on me turning off UAC so it could run as administrator. Try running a standard user account instead of an Admin account 24/7 under Windows.
Click to expand...


Again, that is not windows fault, that is shitty programming... And if a something like a webcam wanted UAC off completely, that should be setting off some alarm bells.... At best that is a shitty workaround to run a shitty application, at worst??.....

No one with any real knowledge of computers would disable UAC, it's just dumb and asking for problems. So the fact that you want to disable it because you know what you're doing shows you aren't as tech savvy as you think you are...
 
BulletDust said:
Try running a standard user account instead of an Admin account 24/7 under Windows.
Click to expand...

Hey guess what, my account is a "standard user account" on my work machine. GPOs greatly tighten the security of the OS.
And guess what? I get zero UAC nags for "standard applications."

Also guess what? Running with an admin account, with UAC enabled, is not much different than running a standard user account. They both have UAC prompts when something actually requires the elevated privileges.
 
Biznatch said:
Again, that is not windows fault, that is shitty programming... And if a something like a webcam wanted UAC off completely, that should be setting off some alarm bells.... At best that is a shitty workaround to run a shitty application, at worst??.....

No one with any real knowledge of computers would disable UAC, it's just dumb and asking for problems. So the fact that you want to disable it because you know what you're doing shows you aren't as tech savvy as you think you are...
Click to expand...

It is shitty programming, I totally agree, its also made by a fairly sizeable company specalizing in I.T equipment. I also agree that no knowledgeable person in their right mind would disable UAC completely, but if its the only way to get the software running there's not much else you can do, with the exception of setting it up on a dedicated machine used only for the purpose relating to the software in question. I never once claimed that I wanted to disable UAC, in fact I stated the polar opposite - I had to disable UAC or the software wouldn't run.

However, as stated previously, up until ~2007 windows literally had no real multi user support, so everything was run as administrator - Its a mindset that has carried over from the old days of Windows and for that reason I say Microsoft is, in some small way, partly to blame.
 
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gimp said:
Hey guess what, my account is a "standard user account" on my work machine. GPOs greatly tighten the security of the OS.
And guess what? I get zero UAC nags for "standard applications."

Also guess what? Running with an admin account, with UAC enabled, is not much different than running a standard user account. They both have UAC prompts when something actually requires the elevated privileges.
Click to expand...

This all stands perfectly to reason, I'm not too sure what you are trying to claim here?

There is software out there that will not run correctly under Windows without admin privledges.
 
BulletDust said:
So far this week I've dealt with an accounting package that refuses to run correctly unless it's administrator and a webcam software package who's installer insisted on me turning off UAC so it could run as administrator. Try running a standard user account instead of an Admin account 24/7 under Windows.
Click to expand...
I don't know about the webcam, but the accounting package may just want to be able to edit files in its installation directory, try installing it somewhere other than "C:\program files (x86)" or editing the permissions for just that programs folder to give your user account full control of it.
 
Raxiel said:
I don't know about the webcam, but the accounting package may just want to be able to edit files in its installation directory, try installing it somewhere other than "C:\program files (x86)" or editing the permissions for just that programs folder to give your user account full control of it.
Click to expand...

I just set the package to run as administrator, it's just a PIA as it shouldn't need to run as administrator.
 
Raxiel said:
I don't know about the webcam, but the accounting package may just want to be able to edit files in its installation directory, try installing it somewhere other than "C:\program files (x86)" or editing the permissions for just that programs folder to give your user account full control of it.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, forgot about that. I install most of my stuff to my D:/ drive, so I don't have to worry about Program Files being locked down.
 
BulletDust said:
I just set the package to run as administrator, it's just a PIA as it shouldn't need to run as administrator.
Click to expand...
But doesn't that still trigger UAC prompts?

It's possible it needs admin for something else, like storing variables in the registry, but if all it wants is to write to program files, then having the installation folder at full permissions for a standard user would mean you could run it as such and avoid UAC prompts without having to compromise security for the system as a whole.

Anecdote time:
The PC I use for work, naturally, has all admin features locked down by IT. We had an addon for AutoCAD that would revert to default settings every time you ran it unless you had admin privileges. Obviously IT wouldn't let us have that, but after speaking to the vendor and establishing the reason (folder permissions) IT agreed to just give every user of that addon write permission to just that folder and now we can use it normally.
 
silk186 said:
I want to set it to the lowest setting. I run a few instances of uTorrent. The way it runs it asks permission for each instance, this is annoying as it happens every time I restart my computer for an update/driver refresh/ect.

Regardless of why, a changed option should stay changed. I want it to 'never notify'
Click to expand...

No you want Windows 7. Don't try to turn it into 7. Change requires change.
 
BulletDust said:
This all stands perfectly to reason, I'm not too sure what you are trying to claim here?

There is software out there that will not run correctly under Windows without admin privledges.
Click to expand...

Maybe I just mis-interpreted your post. If I did, I apologize :)

Still, I will say that if an application is requiring admin privs to run, it would be beneficial to run an application that captures what the application is trying to access. It is certainly possible that you can modify permissions to negate the need for running as admin.
LUA Buglight is a great application for this. As is Process Monitor.

We have had applications that cause the UAC prompt. We would then run one (or both) of those applications to determine what the user app is trying to access that's generating the UAC prompt, then modify perms appropriately so that admin rights are not actually needed.
 
BulletDust said:
A UAC dialogue box will still pop up and you will have to click 'Allow'.

Windows is such a PIA the way everything has to run as Administrator!
Click to expand...
uTorrent runs as admin and still asks permission when it starts as well as for EVERY torrent I open.
 
gimp said:
Maybe I just mis-interpreted your post. If I did, I apologize :)

Still, I will say that if an application is requiring admin privs to run, it would be beneficial to run an application that captures what the application is trying to access. It is certainly possible that you can modify permissions to negate the need for running as admin.
LUA Buglight is a great application for this. As is Process Monitor.

We have had applications that cause the UAC prompt. We would then run one (or both) of those applications to determine what the user app is trying to access that's generating the UAC prompt, then modify perms appropriately so that admin rights are not actually needed.
Click to expand...
Why this is a great option in a professional environment it doesn't really make sense for most home users.
I've not messed around with permissions, turning UAC prompts off is much easier than learning to mess with permissions.
 
silk186 said:
uTorrent runs as admin and still asks permission when it starts as well as for EVERY torrent I open.
Click to expand...
That shouldn't be necessary. Are you sure that the launch shortcut isn't set to elevate?
 
silk186 said:
Why this is a great option in a professional environment it doesn't really make sense for most home users.
I've not messed around with permissions, turning UAC prompts off is much easier than learning to mess with permissions.
Click to expand...

feel free to get drive-by's when viewing legitimate sites because the ad network has infected ads.

No longer do you only get infected when viewing questionable sites.
Plenty of legitimate sites have inadvertently served virus-infested ads. Even [H] had that issue a couple years back.
Even CNN had it occur.
UAC helps protect from that.
 
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