why is UAC so annoying? and why did I have to disable it?

[FelixDeCat]

I disabled UAC because I got tired of not being able to move favorites or rename them in the browser without the screen going crazy and waiting for some stupid thing to ask for permission. The same thing went for almost anything involving the start menu and running things that crappy Vista came with in the first place.

Why you couldnt allow exclusions from that crappy uac is beyond me. Now I have to be warned at every boot that "OMG UAC IS DISABLED NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" that is also annoying.

Thats what you get for trying to get computers to the average mainstream user. Everything has to be dumbed down for them. :|

 

[Gooberlx2]

UAC shouldn't pop up when trying to alter your browser favorites. Nor should it popup when using regular software (mail, paint, gallery, IE). It should popup when trying to do administrative things, such as device/disk management, altering of system-wide settings (including start menu entries that affect all users), etc...

UAC makes the system substantially more secure and is no more intrusive than sudo elevation in linux or mac. I'd argue that not using UAC is akin to dumbing down your computer, because you're using it less intelligently.

If UAC is popping up for altering browser favorites, then something isn't configured correctly (software, permissions, favorites/bookmarks location). Favorites should be stored in a user's profile folder, for which they have ownership.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
I disabled UAC because I got tired of not being able to move favorites or rename them in the browser without the screen going crazy and waiting for some stupid thing to ask for permission. The same thing went for almost anything involving the start menu and running things that crappy Vista came with in the first place.

Why you couldnt allow exclusions from that crappy uac is beyond me. Now I have to be warned at every boot that "OMG UAC IS DISABLED NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" that is also annoying.

Thats what you get for trying to get computers to the average mainstream user. Everything has to be dumbed down for them. :|

Why are you running your browser as admin in the first place? That is not normal behaviour for UAC and it is dangerous to turn it off. The start menu thing only applies to entries for multiple users.

The best way to work around UAC on this is to leave the start menu alone and use the search bar to open programs. You type the first few letters of the item you want to open and select it from the display results. No need to even mess with the start menu if you use the search function as intended by Microsoft.

UAC is not for dumbing down the computer. UAC warns you when system level changes are requested and puts you in control, instead of malware and programs. Linux and OSX have had similar features for years and Microsoft is just now getting it with Vista.

 

[TheKub]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
UAC makes the system substantially more secure and is no more intrusive than sudo elevation in linux or mac.

At least with sudo you can elevate on the fly, I hated that I would launch a CMD window dig around then try a command and fail because I didnt click the shortcut that auto ran it as admin. Id much rather be able to type a command and elevate on the fly rather than closing my app (losing my place) then relaunching and redoing it all.

Granted this is something that if I stuck with it would become muscle memory but I didnt like it. So I turn it off and live with the concequences.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: TheKub

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
UAC makes the system substantially more secure and is no more intrusive than sudo elevation in linux or mac.

At least with sudo you can elevate on the fly, I hated that I would launch a CMD window dig around then try a command and fail because I didnt click the shortcut that auto ran it as admin. Id much rather be able to type a command and elevate on the fly rather than closing my app (losing my place) then relaunching and redoing it all.

Granted this is something that if I stuck with it would become muscle memory but I didnt like it. So I turn it off and live with the concequences.

I can appreciate your point about the cmd shell. I wonder if there's a sudo for powershell..but I haven't cared to play around with it much.

But when comparing graphical environments of say OpenSuse or Ubuntu with Vista, the gui prompt intrusiveness for sudo elevation and UAC are pretty much equal.

And actually, I'm not able to right-click-run applications as root in opensuse gnome, like I can in Vista (though I'm sure there's a work around, but I haven't cared to look in to it). Some apps get all pissy about the xorg/display too. (sudo gedit, for example)

edit: apparently there are scripts you can download or write for powershell to replicate sudo for UAC elevation.

 

[tzdk]

May be these tools can help http://technet.microsoft.com/e...2008.06.elevation.aspx

 

[sxr7171]

Well disable it and move on. It's not for you.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: TheKub

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
UAC makes the system substantially more secure and is no more intrusive than sudo elevation in linux or mac.

Id much rather be able to type a command and elevate on the fly rather than closing my app (losing my place) then relaunching and redoing it all.

Some commands do auto-elevate. Try gpedit.msc and you should see an example in action.

If you want to run Admin-level commands in a command-line window, simply make a shortcut that launches cmd.exe at unrestrained Admin level and then use that. Or if you want to go halfway, make a shortcut that launches cmd.exe as your Admin-level user account, and now the password prompts will be reduced to Continue/Cancel prompts. In either case, if you're on Vista Business or Vista Ultimate, you can use the /savecred switch to retain the password for the initial elevation of the command-line window.

 

[Nothinman]

Topic Title: why is UAC so annoying? and why did I have to disable it?

You didn't have to disable it. You did so because you decided to put a band-aid on the symptoms instead of fixing the problems with your system.

 

[hclarkjr]

have a look at this program for tweaking UAC

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: hclarkjr
have a look at this program for tweaking UAC

Thank you, thank you & thank you. Ive got more Vista rants since I just upgraded from XP this week.

 

[FelixDeCat]

As it turns out that utility still gives me a UAC off message, which I dont want. Oh well.

 

[hclarkjr]

that is weird, i use it in silent mode and it is showing as turned on for me

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
UAC makes the system substantially more secure and is no more intrusive than sudo elevation in linux or mac. I'd argue that not using UAC is akin to dumbing down your computer, because you're using it less intelligently.

UAC doesn't bother me, except...

I think it's pretty 'dumb' that it doesn't require a password!

I judge the OP has a valid argument. UAC is "dumbed down" in that sense...

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
UAC makes the system substantially more secure and is no more intrusive than sudo elevation in linux or mac. I'd argue that not using UAC is akin to dumbing down your computer, because you're using it less intelligently.

UAC doesn't bother me, except...

I think it's pretty 'dumb' that it doesn't require a password!

I judge the OP has a valid argument. UAC is "dumbed down" in that sense...

UAC requires a password if your running on a limited account (as you should be). If you're already on an admin account what did you want it to do, ask for the same password you used to login? The UAC prompt itself is displayed on a secure screen so software can not 'inject' an ok/cancel or otherwise automate the prompt.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: bsobel
UAC requires a password if your running on a limited account (as you should be).

Interesting!

Truthfully, UAC has never asked me for a password on this lappy (in 2 1/2 years of use).

I'll go boot into Vista and see what type of account I'm (normally) using...

EDIT: Yep, it's an Admin account!

LoL! I guess that's why UAC has never bothered me...

Which begs the question: Is it worse to turn off UAC or run as an Admin?

I've never had an intrusion or security-related issue on this lappy, and I've run it over every sort of horribly insecure network connection you can imagine - corporate WANs, hotel lobbies, coffee shops, airport terminals, war driving - you name it!

 

[Zensal]

I personally hate UAC because I make so many tweaks or do things that require admin permission that it just gets annoying. As a "advanced" user or whatever you would call it, it just gets in the way. Of course, I'm the only one who uses that computer and the family computer is set up with it.

 

[Nothinman]

Which begs the question: Is it worse to turn off UAC or run as an Admin?

It's worse to turn it off because it's an added layer of security even when running as an admin since it does the ok/cancel prompt.