Since the release of the network version of the Windows NT operating system, in all subsequent modifications, user account control, which was previously used exclusively for mainframes and servers, began to be actively used. In desktop versions of the system of separation of administrator and ordinary user rights was not. Therefore, any installed or installed programs could make their own adjustments to the system settings, because of which the operability of the operating system itself could be impaired.
What is user control and what is it for?
In systems of a rank higher, the separation of rights has become more tangible. In the end, in Windows 7 it reached its peak. So, in the system there are three categories of access rights to change system settings (and user account control is designed for this) at the level of administrator, regular user and super administrator. The latter, by the way, has a maximum of privileges, and he himself is not a registered user, but such a system phantom, the effect of which is practically not controlled by computer owners, although you can disable this account.
As already understood, user account control in Windows was introduced so that the user could not accidentally or intentionally change system settings or delete critical files. And this applies not only to his own rash actions, but also to installed or launched programs that can change parameters independently without the user's knowledge, not to mention all kinds of viruses and threats.
What parameters does the control apply to?
Now, let’s take a brief look at exactly what user or application actions fall under this restrictive Windows tool. We will not give a complete list of prohibitions, but restrict ourselves to the main situations:
- installation / removal of application applications, drivers and ActiveX controls;
- installation of system updates;
- changing the firewall settings and the control tool itself;
- creating or deleting registrations;
- installation and removal of parental control;
- Actions with the "Task Scheduler";
- restore system items from backups;
- any actions with files and directories of other users;
- time change (but not time zone);
- actions in the registry editor, etc.
How to disable user account control?
Next, we will see how to reduce the level of control or turn it off completely.
To do this, you need to call up the account section through the “Control Panel” and go to the point of changing the control options (in Windows 10, you can simply enter the UAC abbreviation in the search field to call up the desired section).
In the settings window on the left there is a slider, by moving which the desired level is set. There are only four configuration options:
- constant notification (for all programs and ordinary users);
- notification only when trying to make changes to system settings (only for programs);
- notification when changing system parameters, but without dimming the screen;
- complete shutdown.
Keep in mind that if you completely deactivate the control, all installed applications (including viruses) will have equal rights with the administrator, so in this case you need to be very careful and think a hundred times about making such changes to the system.
Deactivation of control through the system registry
You can disable user account control in Windows through the system registry. To call the editor, the regedit command is used, which is written in the Run menu field.
Here you should follow the HKLM branch to the Polices and System section, where there are three parameters on the right: EnableLUA, PromptOnSecureDesktop, and ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin.
Their editing is done through a double click. The combinations presented below correspond to the above values that could be set with the slider in the control section and the order of the listed keys:
- 1, 1, 2.
- 1, 1, 5.
- 1, 0, 5.
- 100.
If you carefully look at the location of the keys, it is easy to notice that they are located in the policy section, which can also be called through the Windows system settings. However, the registry has a higher priority, so the issues of changing parameters are not considered in the policies.
Should I lower the level of control?
In short, this is all about account control. In the end, it remains to solve the question of how expedient it is to turn off the control. It seems that you can completely deactivate it only if you do not have access to the Internet, where viruses could leak into the system, or if you are not going to install any programs. But in the general case, you can simply lower the level of control (to the third point), if this is absolutely necessary. It is also not recommended to set the maximum level, since the system will issue confirmation requests at every opportunity, and you yourself understand that few people will like it.