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Guest sanderl
Posted

Is it plausible to disable parts of UAC?

this because I hate the parts

-blocked startupprograms (in dutch geblokkeerde opstartprogramma's)

-'are you sure you want to proceed'-messages (weet u zeker dat u hiermee

door wilt gaan)

, but the other parts are very usefull.

 

so is it plausible to disable these parts?

 

the only thing I know is how to disable the whole UAC.

Guest Nonny
Posted

On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:43:00 -0700, sanderl

<sanderl@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

<span style="color:blue">

>Is it plausible to disable parts of UAC?</span>

 

You can set it so that you don't get the constant questions/messages

 

Google "TweakUAC.exe".

 

Download it and run it (one time run does it).

<span style="color:blue">

>this because I hate the parts

>-blocked startupprograms (in dutch geblokkeerde opstartprogramma's)

>-'are you sure you want to proceed'-messages (weet u zeker dat u hiermee

>door wilt gaan)

>, but the other parts are very usefull.

>

>so is it plausible to disable these parts?

>

>the only thing I know is how to disable the whole UAC.</span>

Guest CarolinaFaithful
Posted

Silent mode will still block some programs at startup. However, using

TweakUAC and putting it in silent mode is definitely preferred to

disabling UAC altogether.

 

 

--

CarolinaFaithful

 

Your knowledge is appreciated. One can never learn too much.

Guest Nonny
Posted

On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:24:56 -0500, CarolinaFaithful

<guest@unknown-email.com> wrote:

<span style="color:blue">

>Silent mode will still block some programs at startup. However, using

>TweakUAC and putting it in silent mode is definitely preferred to

>disabling UAC altogether.</span>

 

I found that a couple of my oft-used programs got screwed up while

using UAC in silent mode... dumped UAC completely and won't go back.

Posted

On Jun 15, 12:24 pm, CarolinaFaithful <gu...@unknown-email.com> wrote:<span style="color:blue">

> Silent mode will still block some programs at startup. However, using

> TweakUAC and putting it in silent mode is definitely preferred to

> disabling UAC altogether.

>

> --

> CarolinaFaithful

>

> Your knowledge is appreciated. One can never learn too much.</span>

 

Silent mode is worse then disabling UAC all together because it gives

you a false sense of security. All an application has to do is have a

manifest that says grant full rights and it has admin rights to your

system.

 

If you need your application to run as admin on startup you should

code it (or bug the coder who coded it wrong) so the admin components

run as a service.

Guest Gerald309
Posted

You may want to consider this article information (below) before

'hacking' the Windows system .... a Windows Vista empowered computer

is too pretty to "deface":

 

Techworld.com - Vista's UAC spots rootkits, tests find

http://www.techworld.com/security/news/ind...m?newsid=101583

 

Do you know what a rootkit is ? (Certainly one of the most dangerous

malware threats aside from a 'blended threat' attack). Do you know

what notifications you are turning off ? Are they malware alerts you

should attend for a stable and secure system ?

 

An easy way to wade through this is simply if you have ever had a

personal firewall installed that is quality and a tad "agressive" and

you get the several alerts. You go through them one by one and off to

the search engine to see if the process is part of Windows or trusted

software to give permission to.

 

What you may turn off with some hacker tweak is an actual alert to

malware much as the same as turning off firewall protection to a port

malware is communicating through - or allowing malware by clicking

"OK" to allow it internet access and defeating the purpose of the

security software (antivirus, antispyware, firewall).

 

I would investigate with extreme prejudice before proceeding as you

ask or are answered in today's crimeware enviroment.

 

MORE:

Is Limited User Account enough? Not really...

http://www.prevx.com/blog/83/Is-Limited-Us...unt-enough-Not-

really.html

 

 

On Jun 14, 9:43 am, sanderl <sand...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:<span style="color:blue">

> Is it plausible to disable parts of UAC?

> this because I hate the parts

> -blocked startupprograms (in dutch geblokkeerde opstartprogramma's)

> -'are you sure you want to proceed'-messages (weet u zeker dat u hiermee

> door wilt gaan)

> , but the other parts are very usefull.

>

> so is it plausible to disable these parts?

>

> the only thing I know is how to disable the whole UAC.</span>

Guest CarolinaFaithful
Posted

Thank you Wil and Gerald309, for correcting me. The Techworld.com

article finally convinced me to re-enable my UAC. What I thought was

"an annoyance" before, could really help prevent a catastrophe later on.

 

 

--

CarolinaFaithful

 

Your knowledge is appreciated. One can never learn too much.

Guest Nonny
Posted

On Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:25:34 -0500, CarolinaFaithful

<guest@unknown-email.com> wrote:

<span style="color:blue">

>Thank you Wil and Gerald309, for correcting me. The Techworld.com

>article finally convinced me to re-enable my UAC. What I thought was

>"an annoyance" before, could really help prevent a catastrophe later on.</span>

 

Setup a disciplined backup program and you won't have to worry about

it.

 

I could get the most biblical virus infestation and be back up and

running in an hour without even having to run a virus scanner.

 

I do daily full backups using Acronis True Image, and I backup my data

every two hours using Second Copy.

Guest Gerald309BCPCNet
Posted

Let's try this on for a more intelligent answer than my gerald309

other account / no spam - since it was inspired here::

 

Warning: Why you should not use a ‘tweaking UAC’ software utility

June 15, 2008 by bluecollarpc

Warning: Why you should not use a ‘tweaking UAC’ software utility

 

Silent Mode tweak….

 

Simple. Number one the software utility is not a Microsoft Windows

product which is what these “hacker†utilities will be making changes

to - YOUR Windows Operating System. Just because they can create

software (anyone can) does not mean it is safe and secure and will not

corrupt Windows in some manner (and How to undo changes to the

Registry ?)

 

The bottom line is some programmer runs out and buys the Vista manual

from Microsoft and finds some hidden setting or creates one (just like

with XP for years) and runs out and opens their “donateware†on some

free blog which is illegal or even at Yahoo Groups or Microsoft News

Rooms which is also illegal - see the Federal Trade Commission, these

areas are not legally commercial - to get hopefully rich at any

expense of the Users with the all too familiar “As ISâ€â€¦. (happens

everyday of the week in the ‘XP Years’ and is migrating to Vista, but

seems the majority of these type products do a fair and safe

operation, to be fair - but this type utility is circumventing Vista

security which you do not want to do and is why anti-malware products

like antivirus and antispyware have been manufactured to prevent

malicious malware applications from doing that)…..

 

Consider the following rather then these type hacker “tweaks†….

 

You may want to consider this article information (below) before

‘hacking’ the Windows system …. a Windows Vista empowered computer

is too pretty to “defaceâ€:

 

Techworld.com - Vista’s UAC spots rootkits, tests find

http://www.techworld.com/security/news/ind...m?newsid=101583

 

Do you know what a rootkit is ? (Certainly one of the most dangerous

malware threats aside from a ‘blended threat’ attack). Do you know

what notifications you are turning off ? Are they malware alerts you

should attend for a stable and secure system ?

 

An easy way to wade through this is simply if you have ever had a

personal firewall installed that is quality and a tad “aggressive†and

you get the several alerts. You go through them one by one and off to

the search engine to see if the process is part of Windows or trusted

software to give permission to.

 

What you may turn off with some hacker tweak is an actual alert to

malware much as the same as turning off firewall protection to a port

malware is communicating through - or allowing malware by clicking

“OK†to allow it internet access and defeating the purpose of the

security software (antivirus, antispyware, firewall).

 

I would investigate with extreme prejudice before proceeding in

changes not recommended in today’s crimeware environment - see the

following:

 

MORE:

Is Limited User Account enough? Not really…

http://www.prevx.com/blog/83/Is-Limited-Us...Not-really.html

 

 

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Posted in BCPCNet WebLog

 

 

 

 

On Jun 14, 9:43 am, sanderl <sand...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:<span style="color:blue">

> Is it plausible to disable parts of UAC?

> this because I hate the parts

> -blocked startupprograms (in dutch geblokkeerde opstartprogramma's)

> -'are you sure you want to proceed'-messages (weet u zeker dat u hiermee

> door wilt gaan)

> , but the other parts are very usefull.

>

> so is it plausible to disable these parts?

>

> the only thing I know is how to disable the whole UAC.</span>

Guest Gerald309BCPCNet
Posted

SOURCE :::::::

 

http://bluecollarpc.wordpress.com/2008/06/...ftware-utility/

 

On Jun 15, 5:17 pm, Gerald309BCPCNet <gerald...@bluecollarpc.net>

wrote:<span style="color:blue">

> Let's try this on for a more intelligent answer than my gerald309

> other account / no spam - since it was inspired here::

>

> Warning: Why you should not use a ‘tweaking UAC’ software utility

> June 15, 2008 by bluecollarpc

> Warning: Why you should not use a ‘tweaking UAC’ software utility

>

> Silent Mode tweak….

>

> Simple. Number one the software utility is not a Microsoft Windows

> product which is what these “hacker†utilities will be making changes

> to - YOUR Windows Operating System. Just because they can create

> software (anyone can) does not mean it is safe and secure and will not

> corrupt Windows in some manner (and How to undo changes to the

> Registry ?)

>

> The bottom line is some programmer runs out and buys the Vista manual

> from Microsoft and finds some hidden setting or creates one (just like

> with XP for years) and runs out and opens their “donateware†on some

> free blog which is illegal or even at Yahoo Groups or Microsoft News

> Rooms which is also illegal - see the Federal Trade Commission, these

> areas are not legally commercial - to get hopefully rich at any

> expense of the Users with the all too familiar “As ISâ€â€¦. (happens

> everyday of the week in the ‘XP Years’ and is migrating to Vista, but

> seems the majority of these type products do a fair and safe

> operation, to be fair - but this type utility is circumventing Vista

> security which you do not want to do and is why anti-malware products

> like antivirus and antispyware have been manufactured to prevent

> malicious malware applications from doing that)…..

>

> Consider the following rather then these type hacker “tweaks†….

>

> You may want to consider this article information (below) before

> ‘hacking’ the Windows system …. a Windows Vista empowered computer

> is too pretty to “defaceâ€:

>

> Techworld.com - Vista’s UAC spots rootkits, tests findhttp://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsid=101583

>

> Do you know what a rootkit is ? (Certainly one of the most dangerous

> malware threats aside from a ‘blended threat’ attack). Do you know

> what notifications you are turning off ? Are they malware alerts you

> should attend for a stable and secure system ?

>

> An easy way to wade through this is simply if you have ever had a

> personal firewall installed that is quality and a tad “aggressive†and

> you get the several alerts. You go through them one by one and off to

> the search engine to see if the process is part of Windows or trusted

> software to give permission to.

>

> What you may turn off with some hacker tweak is an actual alert to

> malware much as the same as turning off firewall protection to a port

> malware is communicating through - or allowing malware by clicking

> “OK†to allow it internet access and defeating the purpose of the

> security software (antivirus, antispyware, firewall).

>

> I would investigate with extreme prejudice before proceeding in

> changes not recommended  in today’s crimeware environment - see the

> following:

>

> MORE:

> Is Limited User Account enough? Not really…http://www.prevx.com/blog/83/Is-Limited-Us...nough-Not-reall...

>

> BCPCGroup ~ The BlueCollarPC.Net Website Security Group

> ———————————————————–

> MEMBERS AREA:http://www.bluecollarpc.net/joingroup.html

> Mail domain bluecollarpc.net

> Live List Owner: bcpcgroup-listown...@bluecollarpc.net

> Service List Owner: bcpcgroup-ow...@bluecollarpc.net

> Post to Group (Members Only): bcpcgr...@bluecollarpc.net

> Help address bcpcgroup-h...@bluecollarpc.net

> Subscription address: bcpcgroup-subscr...@bluecollarpc.net

> Unsubscription address: bcpcgroup-unsubscr...@bluecollarpc.net

> #Sender Policy Framework (SPF,http://spf.pobox.com) Protected

> #ALL Posts Moderated and List Protected with Antivirus Service.

> Some List Features enabled:

> Guard archive (message digests). Archive access requests from

> unrecognized SENDERs will be rejected.

> Subscription requires confirmation by reply to a message sent to the

> subscription address.

> Unsubscribe requires confirmation by a reply to a message sent to the

> subscription

>

> Posted in BCPCNet WebLog

>

> On Jun 14, 9:43 am, sanderl <sand...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>

>

><span style="color:green">

> > Is it plausible to disable parts of UAC?

> > this because I hate the parts

> > -blocked startupprograms (in dutch geblokkeerde opstartprogramma's)

> > -'are you sure you want to proceed'-messages (weet u zeker dat u hiermee

> > door wilt gaan)

> > , but the other parts are very usefull.</span>

><span style="color:green">

> > so is it plausible to disable these parts?</span>

><span style="color:green">

> > the only thing I know is how to disable the whole UAC.- Hide quoted text -</span>

>

> - Show quoted text -</span>

Posted

"CarolinaFaithful" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message

news:bc73a37caca3f803112a974a913348a6@nntp-gateway.com...<span style="color:blue">

>

> Thank you Wil and Gerald309, for correcting me. The Techworld.com

> article finally convinced me to re-enable my UAC. What I thought was

> "an annoyance" before, could really help prevent a catastrophe later on.

>

>

> --

> CarolinaFaithful

>

> Your knowledge is appreciated. One can never learn too much.</span>

 

 

Glad to see you re-enabled it and you won't be sorry.

 

Read over this write-up by MS-MVP Ronnie Vernon. The only fault I see in it

is I didn't write it :>)

 

QUOTE:

"Bob" <bob@nowhere.net> wrote in message

news:8MOdnY5hI8aWaHvanZ2dnUVZ_gKdnZ2d@comcast.com...<span style="color:blue">

> Ronnie

> Even with the prompt enabled it still requires the user to be

> knowledgeable of the application UAC is prompting about. Once elevation is

> allowed UAC does not protect the user. Clicking allow becomes nothing more

> than an annoying additional click which in many cases becomes automatic.</span>

 

It it only annoying until you run into something unexpected. Right after

Vista was first released, we went through all of the debates about users

getting to the point where clicking on the prompt became an 'automatic'

response.

 

One user told us about a utility that he downloaded and installed and he got

the expected 'security warning' about the file not having a digital

signature. He clicked to run the file anyway and the utility installed. He

then got a message to 'click here' to configure your personal settings. He

then received this prompt.

 

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa86/rvmv/UACPrompt2.jpg

 

Without UAC, he never would have been aware of the second file being

installed, since he had already permitted the program to run. Needless to

say, he decided that he would leave UAC on.

 

<span style="color:blue">

> Additionally, the most common way a PC becomes infected is by downloading

> something from the net and even with the UAC prompts disabled you still

> receive a security warning when you attempt a download.</span>

 

Only in specific instances, such as an installation file that does not have

a digital signature attached. The security warning does nothing to protect

against 'drive-by' downloads that run automatically. Most of the smaller

software developers will not bother with a digital signature, simply because

it is time consuming and expensive for them.

<span style="color:blue">

>

> Personally, when I decide to run something I don't have a need to be asked

> to confirm it. If I didn't want to run it I would not have clicked on it

> in the first place.</span>

 

It's not about you deciding to run a program, it's about 'isolation', it's

about 'integrity levels', it's about what background actions the program

will take when you do run it. Have you ever wondered why an application,

that does nothing more than make images look better, needs full and

unrestricted access to every part of your computer?

<span style="color:blue">

>

> The bottom line is UAC does no more than protect the user from himself,

> and even that still requires the user to be knowledgeable.</span>

 

This is the whole point of UAC. The only way that a malicious program can be

installed is if the user gets complacent and stops paying attention to what

they are doing.

 

When Vista is first installed, a user will typically see a ton of UAC

prompts as they install all of their software programs and utilities, but

these will gradually become more rare. Windows has to overcome almost twenty

years of being a 'push button' operating system before it will attain any

semblance of a 'secure' operating system. The education of users as well as

developers will take some time. UAC and other security 'hardening'

procedures are not going to 'go away'.

 

When the majority of developers see the benefits, and start following the

Microsoft developer guidelines for coding their programs and applications to

run in a 'least user privilege' environment, UAC will become a prompt that

is rarely seen. The vast majority of windows software should not even need

to initiate a UAC prompt.

 

Take a few minutes to read the following article. It will give you a better

understanding, and show you the underlying reasons and goals of UAC.

 

The Long-Term Impact of User Account Control:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc137811.aspx

 

 

--

 

Ronnie Vernon

Microsoft MVP

Windows Desktop Experience

 

 

<span style="color:blue">

>

> "Ronnie Vernon MVP" <rv@invalid.org> wrote in

> messagenews:3F04A9A8-EC21-412D-9ED2-3386B2E653BB@microsoft.com...<span style="color:green">

>> "Bob" <bob@nowhere.net> wrote in message

>> news:VISdnaGl9rkOUnjanZ2dnUVZ_g-dnZ2d@comcast.com...<span style="color:darkred">

>>>

>>> All of that nonsense can be eliminated by running UAC in "quiet" mode.</span>

>>

>> This is a fallacy! If UAC cannot notify the user that a program is trying

>> to gain global access to the system, then it is effectively 'disabled'.

>> This so called 'quite mode' setting just changes a UAC registry setting

>> to 'automatically elevate everything without prompting'. This means that

>> when you click to open a file, it is 'assumed' that you already know that

>> the file will have unrestricted access to your computer.

>>

>> The main thing that UAC does is to detect when a program or application

>> tries to access restricted parts of the system or registry that requires

>> administrator privileges. When a program does this, UAC will prompt the

>> user for administrative elevation. Without this prompt, UAC cannot warn

>> the user, which means that it is effectively disabled.

>>

>> Some people will tell you that using "quiet mode" will still let IE run

>> in protected mode, but this just isn't true. Without the UAC prompt, a

>> malicious file that runs from a website can run, without restrictions,

>> and silently.

>>

>> Another issue is that with UAC prompt disabled, some legitimate

>> procedures will just silently fail to work properly, with no

>> notification, if you are logged on with a Standard User account, since

>> the application cannot notify you that administrative privileges are

>> required.

>>

>> Even the developer of the TweakUAC utility includes this statement about

>> his product.

>> "if you are an experienced user and have some understanding of how to

>> manage your Windows settings properly, you can safely use the quiet mode

>> of UAC." In my opinion, if you are an experienced user, the last thing

>> you would want to do is turn off the UAC notification.

>>

>> If you 'are' an experienced user, then you would already know how to

>> temporarily bypass the UAC prompt to perform just about any procedure in

>> Vista, such as running programs from an elevated command prompt, or using

>> an elevated instance of windows explorer.

>>

>> The last problem I have with this so-called 'quiet mode' is that it

>> dissuades developers from programming their applications to run in a

>> least user privilege environment.

>> --

>>

>> Ronnie Vernon

>> Microsoft MVP

>> Windows Desktop Experience</span></span>

END QUOTE:

 

--

All the best,

SG

 

Is your computer system ready for Vista?

https://winqual.microsoft.com/hcl/

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Just type in Microsoft

Guest Robinb
Posted

tweakUAC is good and bad

the bad is if you have it off some programs will not install corrrectly. I

found that out the hard way

If you are installing a new program you need to remember to put it back on

robin

"CarolinaFaithful" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message

news:31b49b9849a3dbc936e1f5b35128eb72@nntp-gateway.com...<span style="color:blue">

>

> Silent mode will still block some programs at startup. However, using

> TweakUAC and putting it in silent mode is definitely preferred to

> disabling UAC altogether.

>

>

> --

> CarolinaFaithful

>

> Your knowledge is appreciated. One can never learn too much. </span>

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