Comments on: Make User Account Control (UAC) Stop Blacking Out the Screen in Windows 7 or Vista

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:25:28 +0000

I’ve never actually said no to UAC so what does it matter if someone else says yes for me.. If it breaks my laptop, i’ll get a new one

By: James

James — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:42:49 +0000

UAC is a nightmare. I always turn it off. I turn off all security, anti-virus, firewall, etc. All these “features” designed to protect your computer from malware are themselves a form of malware, slowing your computer down drastically and making installations a pain in the neck. These cures are worse than the disease in my opinion. Instead of trying to protect myself behind layers of annoying security, I just back everything up and reformat once a year.

By: Doug

Doug — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:56:23 +0000

C’mon now, honestly: How many times have you clicked “No” on a UAC prompt?

Sure, you’ve clicked no, but have you ever clicked No and not known where the prompt came from?

I didn’t think so…

By: Bobby

Bobby — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:20:52 +0000

The only real way to get rid of that annoying black screen that shows up at login is to disable any application running at startup with a shield. Meaning, if there is any application that needs administrator rights to start, should not run at startup. This way you don´t even have to disable UAC.

By: Pacey

Pacey — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:13:17 +0000

I think the best way to deal with this is to enable prompt for admin password on each UAC prompt while setting the secure desktop disabled. This is the same with Linux’s root prompt for password without blurring the background. I’ve enabled this in my system and I never encounter any malware issues since 2006. I only recommend this for those who knows how to administer their own system.

By: amster

amster — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:16:05 +0000

I wish microsoft would take heed and make UAC less intrusive.

I was going to disable this, but have decided against doing so as I may as well turn off UAC altogether.

I really wish MS could find, as others say, an elegant solution to this. I understand the requirement for security – but this is quite irritating.

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:58:56 +0000

I don’t care if it makes it less secure or not the fact is it’s ANNOYING. I’m not talking about the blacking out the screen part I’m talking about it second guessing your every decision. Just work already, damnit!

By: Gen2ly

Gen2ly — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:39:39 +0000

+1 for Norton UAC at least the commonly used programs don’t have to go through the prompt again, other programs that try to run programs with permissions are still UAC’d.

By: jonrichco

jonrichco — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:34:50 +0000

Since writing the above, I have installed the Norton UAC Tool, which allows you to remember settings. So far so good – over a few weeks will reduce your UAC prompts to close to zero. The big benefit of this for most users is that you can then focus more on each one, rather than just clicking it off.

Though still “experimental” seems to work fine.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:10:10 +0000

I think what it boils down to is that UAC’s elevated prompts are a good idea for many users, the Secure Desktop for these prompts is a great idea… but poorly executed. The “Secure Desktop” idea really doesn’t warrant the fanfare that MS gave it. Since when does stopping the entire computer just to change resolutions and generate a secondary desktop on which to display a single prompt seem like a good idea? The secure prompt could have been just as easily handled on the existing desktop without a resolution change by suspending other processes while the secure prompt is in focus, giving the secure prompt window a distinct appearance to let the user know, a different frame or color, for instance. The Secure Desktop is basically a 100 dollar solution when a 10 dollar one would have sufficed.