Change user account control settings windows 10

• To change the UAC on Windows 10, open Control Panel > System and Security > Change User Account Control settings.
• Select the appropriate UAC setting, such as “Never notify,” to disable the feature. 
• The options will vary depending on whether you use a Standard or Administrator account.

On Windows 10, User Account Control (UAC) is a security feature that blocks apps from making unwanted system changes, helps users to prevent accidental settings changes, and stops malware from getting into your system without your knowledge.

When UAC is enabled, if an app tries to make changes, Windows 10 will pop a security warning which the user must approve to allow the app to perform the task. If the user uses a standard account, they’ll need to enter administrative credentials to run a particular task requiring higher privileges.

In short, User Account Control allows users to work in a more secure environment. However, there are some situations where you may want to disable or configure the feature differently. For example, when you use legacy apps not designed to work in this environment, or you know exactly what you’re doing and prefer to run Windows 10 without this feature.

If you want to make changes or disable UAC completely, Windows 10 offers the necessary settings to prevent the User Access Control dialog from appearing every time a task needs elevation.

This guide will teach you the steps to manage the User Account Control (UAC) settings on Windows 10.

To change User Account Control settings, your account must have administrator privileges. Otherwise, you’ll need to provide an administrator password to adjust the settings.

To change the UAC settings on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Click on System and Security.

3. Click the “Change User Account Control settings” option.

   

4. On a Standard user account, you’ll see the four levels, but you can only change two of them:

   • Always notify me when: This is the default option on every standard user account, and it pops the UAC dialog when apps try to install another software or make changes to the system and when you try to change settings.
   • Always notify me (and do not dim my desktop): This option blocks apps and users’ system changes just like “Always notify me when,” but with the difference that you can still have access to the desktop to continue working on other tasks.
   • Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (don’t dim my desktop), and Never notify me when (which disables UAC) are not options that can be configured on a Standard account.

5. On an Administrator user account, you’ll see the four levels, and you can select any one of them:

   • Always notify me when: This option pops the UAC dialog when apps try to install another software or make changes to the system and when you try to change settings.
   • Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer: This is the default level for every administrator account, and it doesn’t notify you when making settings changes.
   • Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop): Using this option, you won’t get notifications when making changes, but with the difference that you can still have access to the desktop to continue working on other tasks.
   • Never notify me when: This option disables UAC completely on Windows 10.

   

6. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, restart your computer to apply the settings on Windows 10.

While it’s possible to change the User Account Control (UAC) settings on Windows 10, it’s always recommended to leave the default configuration for better security.

It’s important to note that there are ways to disable UAC using the Registry, but Standard users will experience unwanted behaviors. As such, it’s not recommended to go that route.

If you want to disable the User Account Control feature (not recommended), you’ll need to change the account type to Administrator and then follow the steps to select the “Never notify me when” option using the slider.

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The UAC (User Account Control) is a Windows security component that works to prevent any authorized changes to your computer system. Whether a genuine application, user or malicious malware and viruses start these changes, the UAC ensures that critical system changes are made with the knowledge and consent of the system administrator.

How Does User Account Control Works?

When the User Account Control feature is active (enabled), Windows will display a consent prompt whenever an application or a process attempts to make changes to the operating system. Depending on your UAC settings, the prompt may run in a “secure desktop”, which freezes the desktop and other active applications until the user accepts or denies the approval. When using a standard user account, Windows 10 will display a credential prompt that requires the user to provide Admin credentials to approve the changes.

If the user declines to approve consent request, Windows will abort the changes and remain unchanged. UAC, is therefore, a central Windows security tool that helps prevent malicious processes or software installs or runs quietly, mitigating the risk of malware and viruses.

Types of Users in Windows 10

There are two major user account types in a Windows
10.

• Administrator account
• Standard user account

Administrator Account

Windows by default will assign you as an administrator if you are the only user on your computer. In such a case or when you create additional admin accounts, it will have the highest privileges on your computer. For example, admin user can do any actions on the system like installing or deleting apps. In most cases, admin needs to simply enter the password to unlock system settings.

Standard User Account

On other hand, standard users will have limited access
to the computer. Windows will not allow standard users to make changes to the
hard drive or system files and ask for administrator permission. However,
standard users can still use the computer for browsing the internet, sending
and receiving emails, playing games, using apps, etc.

Adding or Deleting User Accounts in Windows 10

As an administrator you can add, change or delete
users on your computer.

Adding User Account

• Press “Win + I” shortcut keys and open Windows Settings app and click on the “Accounts” section.
• Navigate to “Family and other people” section and click on “Add someone else to this PC” option.

• Next, click
  on the link that says, “I don’t have this person’s sign in information”.

• On the next screen, click on “Add a
  user without a Microsoft account” link.

• Enter username, password and security
  questions/answers then click next.

• Now you can see the new user has been
  successfully added. By Default Windows adds a new account as a standard user
  with limited privileges.

Change User Account

Follow the below instructions in order to change an account from your computer.

• Click on the user account you want
  to delete or modify under the “Family and other people” section.
• In order to change account type
  click on change account type and select “Standard User” or “Administrator” from
  the drop down menu.

Delete User Account

To remove a user account you just need to:

• Click on the account you want to
  delete and select remove.
• Click on delete account and data.

• Windows will delete the account
  along with all associated data to that account.

Disable / Enable the User Account Control in Windows 10

The user
can enable or disable the UAC feature, as well as set a preferred notification
level depending on their security requirements.

• Ensure that you are signed in to an administrator account or have the admin credentials to access administrator elevation token.
• Click the Start button and type “Account Control” in the search box. Select “Change User Control…” from the result.

• On the UAC settings window, you can disable the feature by selecting the lowest level “Never Notify” and click “Ok” at the bottom of the window.

• To enable the UAC feature, slide
  the bar to any of the other three upper levels depending on your preferred
  security settings. The three notification levels are:
  • “Notify
    me only when applications try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my
    desktop)”- Windows will show the elevation prompt but not on secure desktop
    mode, only when an application attempts to make changes.
  • “Default”
    Level – The default Windows 10 UAC setup.
  • “Always
    Notify” – A high-security level that monitors changes from applications or
    users.

Note: after
clicking “Ok” Windows will show the UAC consent request for the user to approve
or deny the changes.

Related: How to fix blue screen of death in Windows 10?

How to Secure UAC Elevation Prompt with Security Policy
Settings?

Windows 10
further secures the consent/credential UAC prompts by using the secure desktop
mode. The secure desktop mode dims the PC desktop and freezes other open apps,
displaying only the UAC elevation prompt. Once the user accepts or declines the
request, it switches back to normal. You can enhance your PC security by
setting the UAC to always display in secure desktop.

• Click the Start button and type “Local Security” in the Cortana and open the “Local Security Policy” editor.

• Expand the “Local Policies” and then click the “Security Options” folder to display the policies on the right panel.
• Scroll down to find the “User Account Control” policies.

• Double click the “Switch to secure desktop..” policy, check the “Enable” option on the resulting pop-up and click “Ok”.
• You can also adjust the “Behavior of the elevation prompt…” and configure it to request credentials for both admin and standard user. Double click the policy, choose your preferred behavior and click “Ok” to save. This will prevent actions by any malware masquerading the secure desktop.

• You can customize other UAC
  settings by double-clicking the policy, modify the settings and click “Ok” to
  implement the changes.
• For instance, you can enable the
  Virtualization and installer controls from the security policy settings.

Managing the UAC Settings with the Registry Editor?

You can also customize User Account Controls by editing the registry.

• Open the Registry editor and use the path, “Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System” to access the UAC keys.

• On the right side panel, double click the key for the setting you want to change.
• Edit the “Value data” field appropriately and click “Ok”.

Conclusion

The User Account Control is a very important feature that adds another security layer to your computer system. The tool prompts for approval for any action attempt to make changes to the computer, thus preventing malicious changes that can result from malware. Besides, UAC also prevents users from making unauthorized or accidental changes to your computer system keeping it functional at all times. You can enable and set UAC notification and elevation prompt levels from the UAC settings. However, if you want a strong control, you can customize User Accounts Controls from the registry editor or the policy editor.