Surely, many users have encountered a situation when, when trying to run the installation file of some software or when opening an executable component of already installed applications, a request from the user account control service appears on the screen to issue permission for changes to be made on this computer. This is because the operating system itself has a special component called User Account Control (UAC) in the English version, which is in an active state and is one of the components of the entire security system of the latest versions of Windows. What kind of service it is, how to configure it, and how appropriate it is to keep it turned on, will be further explained.
What is User Account Control on Windows?
First of all, let's look at what kind of security element it is and how it works, and only then we will decide whether it should be turned off or not. There is no doubt that this is really one of the elements of protection for the system itself.
True, unlike other similar components such as SmartScreen, it does not block the execution of certain actions or the launch of programs that can change the system configuration or set parameters, but merely issues a request for the user's consent to grant the program rights to perform a particular operation, that is, it declines responsibility for user actions in case of consent. In fact, despite the big name (User Account Control is precisely a service for controlling the actions performed when using a registered account or administrator / super administrator account), the whole purpose of this component is to remind the user that granting permissions to third-party software on making changes may adversely affect the operation of the operating system.
Why do I need restrictions on actions in the system?
As for the need to have such a “notifier” on hand, many believe that this service is as useful as it is absolutely unnecessary. The only reasonable explanation for the presence of this protection component in Windows is to constantly remind the user of the appearance of possible critical consequences of his rash actions. But it seems only at first glance.
In fact, especially if we take into account the fact that many computer viruses are capable of intercepting the use of user accounts registered in the system and acting supposedly on their behalf, the User Account Control tool is simply necessary to prevent the execution of questionable applets on the computer when a user I didn’t run the program myself. Thus, it is easy to conclude that it is not worth completely disabling the protection provided by this component (in this case, notifications for the same virus applets running in the background will not be issued when they spontaneously trigger).
Preferred Settings
As for the User Account Control Settings themselves, there are only four options for issuing notifications:
- to run any program (highest security);
- notification with dimming the screen when applications are launched by the user;
- notification without dimming the screen;
- complete shutdown (no notifications at all).
The second and third options for setting parameters for the degree of safety are absolutely equivalent, but differ only in the presence of dimming on the monitor. True, if the computer configuration is weak enough, and the dimming entails a long wait (or just annoying), you can leave the third option. But to establish such a level is recommended only in those cases when you completely trust the running software and are firmly convinced that there are no viruses or spyware applications on the computer.
How to disable User Account Control in the simplest way?
Now a few words directly about setting the desired parameters. You can access them through the "Control Panel" in the user accounts section by selecting the control change item.
In the settings window on the left, a special fader (slider) will be displayed, which sets the necessary level of protection. As already clear, setting it to the lowest position and disables the issuance of notifications by the User Account Control service.
Note: in recent systems, where the user logo is displayed in the start menu, you can proceed to change the control parameters through it. You can get access even faster by entering the abbreviation UAC in the search field. The "Control Panel" in systems of the eighth version and higher is best called through the "Run" console by entering the control command.
Configure Local Policies
This was the easiest option for preferred actions used to configure or disable the User Account Control service. However, you can use some other system tools. In particular, quite simply the necessary parameters can be set in local policies (secpol.msc).
Here you need to go to the section of the same name, call up the security subkey in it and find the control point where it is indicated that all administrators are in approval mode. Double-click to edit the parameter and on the security tab, which opens by default, set the disabled value. Upon completion of the steps and after saving the installed options, exit the editor and restart the computer completely.
Editing Registry Entries
Similar actions to configure the settings of the monitoring service can be performed in the system registry (regedit). Only in this case, in order not to go through the branches and subsections for a long time, it is better to immediately use the search, and in the corresponding field enter the value “EnableLUA” (without quotes).
Again, through a double click you should enter the parameter change and to disable the service, first set zero, save the changes, and after that, as in the previous example, you will need to perform a complete restart of the system.
Note: you can also deactivate the control via the command line, but the command entered is too large and difficult to understand by the average user and, by and large, simply duplicates the actions in the registry relative to local policies, the key value of which is made the necessary changes. The inclusion of the service in all cases is carried out by applying reverse actions.