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A Free Tools that Brings Vista UAC Under Control
When I first started using Vista there were constant UAC prompts which nearly drove me back to XP. Not only was I constantly alerted about allowing programs to run but these prompts were for the same program- time after time. But over the past couple months I have used the Norton UAC Tool which quiets these prompts.
The Norton UAC Tool creates a whitelist of allowed programs that remembers a user's desires when starting a program. But if you upgrade your program version (for instance, upgrading to the latest version of Ccleaner) Norton's UAC Tool will again prompt you to allow/disallow and remember or not. I like this as it shows that the tool is not simply whitelisting a list of program names but the actual integrity of the allowed program.
The Norton UAC Tool does not disable UAC, it simply intercepts the prompt. So you will still have the full protection of UAC (IE in Protected Mode, full file and registry protection, etc).
The Norton UAC Tool can be downloaded from Norton Labs as a free program. There is no registration required as seems to be the case with most Norton products. And on top of the the download is very small- 1.12 MB for x86 and 1.55 MB for x64. The program does not feel intrusive at all and I have not noticed any hit on system performance. The Norton UAC Tool does not produce any running processes and is only active when it intercepts a UAC prompt.
Now you may ask what is the downside? Well that is pretty simple: Norton wants meta data. When the Norton UAC Tool is used meta data about what caused the prompt and why is gathered. Norton is also looking for what subject matter information was issued during the prompt and how long users waited until allowing or disallowing the prompt. This information is phoned home to the Norton servers. Norton is apparently trying to build up a whitelist and blacklist of programs to later add to their tool
Another downside is that x64 users have reported problems using the Norton UAC Tool and the tool does not appear to be updated since release.
http://www.nortonlabs.com/inthelab/uac.php
This item was submitted by regular contributor Rick Farrow.
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Comments
Will it work with Windows 7?
No it will not work on Windows 7, which is a shame as the UAC Tool is an exceptional piece of software. Also, if a person intends to upgrade to Windows 7 from Vista, the Norton UAC Tool must be uninstalled first. Otherwise once you start using Windows 7 you will be unable to install or uninstall any programs, including Windows Updates. If you forget to uninstall the UAC Tool prior to upgrading, just reboot in safe mode and remove the tool in the add/remove programs list.
Great find! Thank You!
Go to http://cnettv.cnet.com/ and type "vista super user" into the search box on RHS of screen.
First entry shows a way of adding a "super user" account that allows bypassing UAC. Very simple.
Would appreciate comments.....
It's not a tool....it's a workaround!
Great find! Thank You!
My question about this program would be, does it work across all user accounts on a computer or does each user account have to give permission?
yeah, i love this tool, its very simple, adding the option for windows to never warn you again about a program if UAC is triggered, so it maintains the full security of UAC, but makes it infinitely less annoying
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