What Is UAC in Windows 10 and How to Disable It ?

What Is UAC in Windows 10 and How to Disable It?
If you have a network of computers in your home or workplace, you need to control which users or applications can change something on that system.
One way to prevent unauthorized changes is to designate one person as the network administrator. However, having one person managing everything is not enough, and this is where User Access Control (UAC) comes in.

This guide explains what UAC is and how to disable it on Windows 10.

What are Universal App campaigns?

UAC is a security feature in Windows 10 that prevents unauthorized or unintentional changes to the operating system. This feature was first part of the Windows Vista security system and has been improved with each new version of Windows since then.
Such changes can be triggered by users, viruses, malware, or applications. But if the administrator does not approve the changes, they will not be implemented.

Changes that require administrator rights include:

• • Running Task Scheduler
  • Making changes to UAC settings
  • Windows Update configuration

Add or remove user accounts.

• Change system-wide files or settings in Windows program files or folders
• View or modify other users’ files and folders.
• Run the application as administrator
• Install or remove applications and drivers.
• Change Windows Firewall or System Date / Time settings
• Set up Family Safety or Parental Controls
• Change user account type

Every time you launch a desktop application that requires administrator rights, UAC appears. You will also see it when you want to change important system settings that require administrator approval.
Anyone on your network can log on to their computers using a standard user account, but any processes they start will run using the permissions granted to the standard user.
For example, any applications launched using Windows Explorer will run at standard user-level permissions. This includes applications that come with Windows 10 itself.
Legacy applications that are not designed with security in mind often require additional permissions to run successfully. Actions such as installing new software and changing the configuration of the Windows Firewall require additional permissions because they require administrator-level permissions.

If you need to run an application that requires user rights beyond the default account, you can restore more user groups to the token to manage applications that make system-wide changes to your computers or devices.
For families, it is possible to create a separate child account with various restrictions and built-in parental control and monitoring functions Learn more in our Microsoft Family account and how to add a family member to your Microsoft account

Windows 10 UAC sliders levels and their meaning

Universal App Campaign (UAC) slider levels in Windows 10 and what they mean

Windows Vista had only two UAC options: On or Off. However, Windows 10 has four UAC levels to choose from:

• Always Notify: Notifies you before users and apps make changes that require administrator permissions. It also pauses other tasks until you answer, and is recommended if you frequently visit unfamiliar websites or install new software.
• Notify me only when programs/applications try to make changes to my computer: notifies you when programs try to make changes to my computer or install the software. This level also pauses other tasks until you answer, but does not notify you when you make changes to Windows settings

• Notify me only when programs/applications try to make changes to my computer (do not darken my desktop): notifies you when a program tries to make changes or install software on your computer. It doesn’t notify you when you make changes to Windows settings, and it doesn’t pause tasks until you answer. Only select this level if it takes a long time to darken your computer desktop.
• Never Notify: Does not notify you when a program tries to make changes, install software, or when you change Windows settings. This option is not recommended, especially if you do not have a good security package, as it is much easier for viruses and malware to infect your computer if UAC is turned off.

How to disable UAC in Windows 10

Note. We do not recommend disabling UAC on your computer as it makes it easier to infect and manage malware on your computer If there are apps that keep running UAC, use Windows Task Scheduler to run those apps without admin rights and UAC prompts, instead of disabling UAC entirely.
If you still want to disable UAC, you can do so through Control Panel, Group Policy, Registry Editor, or the command line.

How to disable UAC using Control Panel

1. Open Control Panel and select User Accounts.

2. Select User Accounts again.

3. Then select Change User Account Control Settings.

4. If you want to completely disable UAC, drag the slider to Never notify to disable UAC, and then click OK.

To re-enable UAC, drag the slider to the desired security level and click OK. Confirm your choice or enter an administrator password if prompted, and then restart your computer to save your changes.

How to disable UAC using the command line

1. To do this, enter CMD in the search box and select Run as administrator.

In the Command Prompt field, type this command and press Enter:
reg.exe ADD HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System / v EnableLUA / t REG_DWORD / d 0 / f

3. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

If you want to enable or disable UAC again, enter the following command:
reg.exe ADD HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System / v EnableLUA / t REG_DWORD / d 1 / f </ pre < h4 How to disable UAC using the Group Policy Editor

1. To do this, enter Policy Editor in the search box and select Edit Group Policy.

2. Select Computer Configuration Windows Settings, and then select Security Options.

3. Then select Local Policies Security Options.

4. Scroll down and double-click User Account Control: Run All Administrators in Admin Approval Mode.

5. Select Disabled OK.

How to disable UAC using the Windows registry

You can also disable UAC through the Windows Registry. However, be sure to back up the registry before doing this to avoid any system problems.

1. To disable UAC through the Windows Registry, right-click Start Run, type regedit.exe and press Type from your keyboard.
2. Follow the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System

3. Then double-click the EnableLUA key and change the data value to 0.

4. Save your changes and restart your computer.

Take control of your accounts

UAC does everything it can between normal user accounts and admin accounts. With this feature, you have a basic level of system security that helps keep your system safe from malicious processes even with a security package.
Did you manage to disable UAC on your computer? Share with us in the comments.
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What Is UAC in Windows 10 and How to Disable It