Question:
Windows Vista: Will disableing the UAC (User Account Controls), leave my computer vulnerable to threats?
2010-06-17 17:31:42 UTC
I hate the obnoxious "You don't have permission to delete" warning, so when I disable that would it make my computer more vulnerable to threats like malware, remote control, trojan horse's, etc.?
Four answers:
ilknur K
2010-06-17 17:44:07 UTC
It is Not Recommend to Disable Windows Vista UAC (User Account Controls). Please Read here Windows Vista has the built-in ability to automatically reduce the potential of security breeches in the system. It does that by automatically enabling a feature called User Account Control (or UAC for short). The UAC forces users that are part of the local administrators group to run like they were regular users with no administrative privileges.



Whenever a user that is a member of the local administrators group (or even a member of the Domain Admins group if the computer is part of an Active Directory domain) tries to perform a task that requires administrative privileges, the operating system halts the operation and prompts the user to acknowledge it prior to running the task.







Note the little shield icon next to some of the items in the above screenshot. These items, if clicked upon, will invoke the UAC prompt, and the following message is displayed:







In case the user is not a member of the local administrators group and he or she tries to perform a task that requires such privileges, they are prompted to enter the valid credentials of an administrator (similar to the Run As command in existing Windows XP/2003):







Although UAC clearly improves the security on Windows Vista, under some scenarios you might want to disable it, for example when giving demos in front of an audience (demos that are not security related, for example). Some home users might be tempted to disable UAC because of the additional mouse clicking it brings into their system, however I urge them not to immediately do so, and try to get used to it instead.



In order to disable UAC please read the following article: http://www.petri.co.il/disable_uac_in_windows_vista.htm
Dave Computer Cleaner
2010-06-17 17:35:17 UTC
Technically yes but I also disable the UAC as its too intrusive, as long as you have a decent anti-virus and firewall you should be fine, the free combo of Avast and Comodo are rock solid, the defence+ module in Comodo is like UAC except it has a whitelist of known safe apps and it learns :)



If your looking for the strongest protection available I've found after researching over 40 different anti-virus programs that Vipre, Bitdefender, Avast and Kaspersky are the most effective.
Sammy
2010-06-17 17:36:13 UTC
Obviously yeah it makes your computer more vulnerable. You're disabling the last chance saloon. I keep them on myself and I got used to it because I got far more important things to worry about. It is not sensible to weaken your security just because it irks you.



Recent testings have shown that even the top antivirus scored just above 60% in detecting new malware (heuristics) so that is about 40% of new malware can slip by.



http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-is-User-Account-Control

http://www.petri.co.il/disable_uac_in_windows_vista.htm
Unca Alby
2010-06-17 17:34:37 UTC
It would actually place your machine at about the same vulnerability as Windows XP.



Which is to say, keep your anti-virus software updated, stay away from obvious purveyors of malware, and you should be just fine.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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