Vista - Re: "What's the deal with UAC (Windows Needs Your Permission scree

03-24-2008

"Bob" wrote in message news:8MOdnY5hI8aWaHvanZ2dnUVZ_gKdnZ2d@xxxxxx

Quote:

> 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.
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> The bottom line is UAC does no more than protect the user from himself,
> and even that still requires the user to be knowledgeable.
>
> "Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote ...

Quote:

>> "Bob" wrote in message...

Quote:

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

>>
>> 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.

Sorry, Bob, but I agree with Ronnie. The so-called "quiet" mode is nothing
more than disabling the built-in warning system. UAC actually works.

Troubleshooting my nephew's pc over the weekend, set in "quiet" mode, I
found a worm and three everyday ordinary virus hits. Apparently, after
tweaking the UAC, the worm disabled the AV enough to allow a virus to
auto-install, three different times, in just under a month.

His excuse? Clicking the little box when he installed a couple games was too
annoying.

03-24-2008	#1 (permalink)
n/a posts	Re: "What's the deal with UAC (Windows Needs Your Permission scree "Bob" wrote in message news:8MOdnY5hI8aWaHvanZ2dnUVZ_gKdnZ2d@xxxxxx Quote: > 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. > 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. > > 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. > > The bottom line is UAC does no more than protect the user from himself, > and even that still requires the user to be knowledgeable. > > "Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote ... Quote: >> "Bob" wrote in message... Quote: >>> >>> All of that nonsense can be eliminated by running UAC in "quiet" mode. >> >> 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. Sorry, Bob, but I agree with Ronnie. The so-called "quiet" mode is nothing more than disabling the built-in warning system. UAC actually works. Troubleshooting my nephew's pc over the weekend, set in "quiet" mode, I found a worm and three everyday ordinary virus hits. Apparently, after tweaking the UAC, the worm disabled the AV enough to allow a virus to auto-install, three different times, in just under a month. His excuse? Clicking the little box when he installed a couple games was too annoying.
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