UPDATE #2: Vista is the most un-user friendly operating system

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: soonerproudUAC can't fix stupid.

That's the argument though. People who don't like UAC are saying that it won't do anything to stop people from destroying their systems. I've ran XP with admin abilities for 7 years on 3 computers and I've never installed a virus (but I've been hit by a worm before). I can't use my track record to suggest that running as admin is safe.

UAC doesn't really do anything to fix the root problem: stupidity.

:thumbsup:

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: soonerproud

Originally posted by: Robor

A coworker was working on another coworkers Vista system (that had UAC enabled) and it was absolutely full of malware. I don't remember the specifics but it took him a while to get it cleaned up. Also, XP under a non-admin account prevented some system changes as well.

Still, I think the 'lost man hours' theory related to UAC is garbage. It makes me laugh when management types try to prove something like this... 'It's 2 seconds x 3x per hour x 8 hours per day x blah, blah, blah = $4 billion savings'. Right. Maybe they can find a way to eliminate eye blinking because those split seconds add up!

The coworker must have been on a administrative account and just clicked allow for anything that wanted to run. UAC can't fix stupid.

According to the coworker it was her teenage son who used it most. That said, we suspected he was probably visiting pr0n sites.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Robor

Originally posted by: soonerproud

Originally posted by: Griffinhart
Sorry, you're right, but what the hell kind of point is that to make? If he's trying to make a point for lost man hours in a business, the statement is total useless since UAC only pops up when something wants to modify a system folder. In a business environment users would typically be running as a limited user and unable to install software anyway. They would never see a UAC prompt. UAC prompts come up far less often than people realize. In the end, lost man hours to a company due to UAC would be zero.

Lets not forget the saved man hours resulting from fewer crashes and downtime due to people having admin privileges and getting malware because of that. UAC also prevents a regular user account from making system changes that could cause IT headaches.

A coworker was working on another coworkers Vista system (that had UAC enabled) and it was absolutely full of malware. I don't remember the specifics but it took him a while to get it cleaned up. Also, XP under a non-admin account prevented some system changes as well.

Still, I think the 'lost man hours' theory related to UAC is garbage. It makes me laugh when management types try to prove something like this... 'It's 2 seconds x 3x per hour x 8 hours per day x blah, blah, blah = $4 billion savings'. Right. Maybe they can find a way to eliminate eye blinking because those split seconds add up!

I'd ask him why he was so stupid as to click yes when Windows prompted him to install said malware.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: Genx87
I'd ask him why he was so stupid as to click yes when Windows prompted him to install said malware.

Gen, you silly goose. It won't let you install Comet Cursor unless you click yes :roll:

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: Robor

According to the coworker it was her teenage son who used it most. That said, we suspected he was probably visiting pr0n sites.

Teenager, Male, Horny, Pron, that explains it all.

I have a few suggestions for the coworker.

1. Reformat and get rid of all the malware for certain.

2. Create two user accounts, one for the coworker and one for the son.

3. Create a strong password for the Admin account and do not let the son have access.

4. Use the parental control feature in Vista and block the son from all web sites that are not age appropriate. You can also use the parental controls to monitor where the son has been surfing on the web.

These simple steps will prevent the horny teenaged son from doing something to mess up the operating system.

 

[ShawnD1]

Alternatively he could just tell this teen to get a job and pay for his own damn computer so he can screw it up as many times as he wants.

 

[zpe]

Originally posted by: soonerproud
The reason for this is malware loves to mess with system wide start menu items.

That's not a good reason for UAC to prompt. If malware is modifying the shared start menu, you've already been pwned. Modifying the start menu is the least of your problems and putting a UAC prompt there is not going to make a difference security-wise.

But a UAC prompt for changes to the Startup folder, I could understand that.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: zpe

Originally posted by: soonerproud
The reason for this is malware loves to mess with system wide start menu items.

That's not a good reason for UAC to prompt. If malware is modifying the shared start menu, you've already been pwned. Modifying the start menu is the least of your problems and putting a UAC prompt there is not going to make a difference security-wise.

But a UAC prompt for changes to the Startup folder, I could understand that.

The reason for this is that UAC has no way of knowing if these changes are from the user or malware. UAC is designed to protect all system changes and there is no good way of excluding the start menu items without leaving gaping holes open that malware may be able to take advantage of to get around UAC. Microsoft had to make a choice here of being consistent with all system files even if it annoys users in order to ensure there were no holes left open for malware to exploit UAC.

I read an excellent blog on this months back so I am going to see if I can find it and post the link. It was posted by a Windows developer explaining why they made the decisions they did in regards to this and other UAC issues.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: Genx87
I'd ask him why he was so stupid as to click yes when Windows prompted him to install said malware.

Gen, you silly goose. It won't let you install Comet Cursor unless you click yes :roll:

I knew someone that actually LIKED CometCursor, BonziBuddy, WeatherBug, etc... they didn't want my to clean the malware off of their machine.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1
Alternatively he could just tell this teen to get a job and pay for his own damn computer so he can screw it up as many times as he wants.

Best solution!

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: Genx87
I'd ask him why he was so stupid as to click yes when Windows prompted him to install said malware.

Gen, you silly goose. It won't let you install Comet Cursor unless you click yes :roll:

I knew someone that actually LIKED CometCursor, BonziBuddy, WeatherBug, etc... they didn't want my to clean the malware off of their machine.

I know someone who asks for weather bug to be put back on. *slap forehead*