Why does W8 have so many security prompts?

streetwolf

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First things first. I disabled UAC and I turned off SmartScreen as I find them both annoying.

Why do some many programs require Admin privileges when my user account has it already? Why does a program like 7-Zip give me a message that I need elevated privileges when I right click on a zip file and select the option to extract it to the folder 7-Zip lists? I have granted all the 7-Zip executables Admin privileges. If I didn't I have problems extracting some rar/zip files where some files would not extract mostly executables.

It seems that W8 wants to annoy the hell out of me. Under W7 I also disabled UAC and never had the prompts for the same things that W8 does.

I'm running W8 Pro x64 from Technet, so it's RTM.
 

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Windows 8 has no more prompts than Windows 7. You also did not disable UAC, otherwise you would not get such prompts. UAC is the only thing that will allow those prompts.

In fact, you can't really disable UAC (well, you can, but there's no ui for it), all you can do is lower the threshold in which prompts appear.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5509-user-account-control-uac-change-settings-windows-8-a.html

What you are seeing is because the folders you are trying to extract to still have Windows 7 security ACL's. You have not yet granted ownership to your Windows 8 account.
 

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You need to use the registry key to disable UAC. The slider DOES NOT work properly in windows8. You need to change the enableLUA key.
 

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The UAC slider works fine. Perhaps it didn't under the Preview releases. Remember, I am running W8 RTM from Technet.

Because 7-Zip would not let me extract some files, I discovered I needed to run it with admin privileges. This is exactly what I mean about W8 restricting things more than W7. I never had to run 7-Zip with admin privileges to do anything.

The Elevation message I mentioned in my OP was caused by giving the 7-Zip program that handles the function I was doing (there a a few 7-Zip exe's for different functions) Admin privileges using Properties. Once I unchecked Admin privileges everything worked fine.

As further 'proof' of W8's increased security why do I have to run the Command Prompt with Admin privileges for things I never had to do this under W7?

Perhaps you are running the Preview versions of W8 and not RTM. If things are not like what I say for you and you are running Preview than it seems RTM has changed in this area.
 

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Do metro apps work when the slider is down? YES. Is UAC still enabled when the slider is all the way down? YES.
 

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    16 GB DDR3 1333
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    2x Nvidia 9800 GTX+
Do metro apps work when the slider is down? YES. Is UAC still enabled when the slider is all the way down? YES.

So what exactly are you saying? That the slider does work and you were wrong to say it didn't. I'm sorry but I just don't understand your statement.
 

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    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
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    Intel Core i7 Quad 3770K @ 5 Ghz
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    Corsair Dominator-GT 16GB @ 2400 Mhz
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    Realtek HD
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    Samsung SSD 830, 840 256GB |
    2TB Seagate SATA3 |
    Hitachi eSata 500GB
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Think about it this way:

The slider turns uac to a low level - but not off.

You can turn uac off completely via the registry, but if you do - then some apps. might not work.

enableLUA.jpg
 

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Think about it this way: The slider turns uac to a low level - but not off. You can turn uac off completely via the registry, but if you do - then some apps. might not work.
Right. In windows 7, the slider completely disables UAC. In Windows 8, it does not. UAC is still very much active, even though "most" prompts should be gone.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8 RTM (Retinas taking damage...)
    CPU
    i5 2500
    Motherboard
    msi p67a-g43
    Memory
    16 GB DDR3 1333
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Nvidia 9800 GTX+
Think about it this way: The slider turns uac to a low level - but not off. You can turn uac off completely via the registry, but if you do - then some apps. might not work.
Right. In windows 7, the slider completely disables UAC. In Windows 8, it does not. UAC is still very much active, even though "most" prompts should be gone.

Didn't know this at all. Thanks for the info.
 

My Computer

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    Intel Core i7 Quad 3770K @ 5 Ghz
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    Sapphire HD7970 3GB OC Edition
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Right. In windows 7, the slider completely disables UAC. In Windows 8, it does not. UAC is still very much active, even though "most" prompts should be gone.

Actually, no. It was exactly the same in Windows 7. Sliding the slider down did NOT disable UAC. In there was a checkbox to turn it on and off, but they replaced it with the slider in Windows 7 and took away the ability to turn it off from the UI.
 

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    Onboard Audio
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    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
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    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Right. In windows 7, the slider completely disables UAC. In Windows 8, it does not. UAC is still very much active, even though "most" prompts should be gone.
Actually, no. It was exactly the same in Windows 7. Sliding the slider down did NOT disable UAC. In there was a checkbox to turn it on and off, but they replaced it with the slider in Windows 7 and took away the ability to turn it off from the UI.
Really? I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the slider can completely disable UAC in 7.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 RTM (Retinas taking damage...)
    CPU
    i5 2500
    Motherboard
    msi p67a-g43
    Memory
    16 GB DDR3 1333
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Nvidia 9800 GTX+
In Windows 7, the slider set to the bottom level turns UAC completely off with EnableUA set to 0.

In Windows 8, the slider set to the bottom level turns UAC just about completely. As Wolfgang posted, if EnableUA is set to 0 in Windows 8, then it will cause issues with some Metro apps not working. You still do not get prompted by UAC with the bottom level though.
 

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In Windows 7, the slider set to the bottom level turns UAC completely off with EnableUA set to 0.

Right, but not by default if you slide it to the bottom. You need the registry setting as well. In this respect it works exactly the same on Windows 7 and Windows 8, but Windows 8 has the added problem that without UAC on some metro apps have problesm.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    Intel i7 3770K
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    nVidia GTX 650
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In Windows 7, the slider set to the bottom level turns UAC completely off with EnableUA set to 0.
Right, but not by default if you slide it to the bottom. You need the registry setting as well. In this respect it works exactly the same on Windows 7 and Windows 8, but Windows 8 has the added problem that without UAC on some metro apps have problesm.
Actually, The registry key is automatically set by the slider in windows 7. It is not automatic in 8.
 

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:ditto:
 

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    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
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    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
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    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
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For normal usage, you should keep UAC on for security reasons, but everyone is free to customize their OS.
 

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    That's basically it.
The point I am making perhaps can be explained by this. I downloaded a program that makes a flash drive bootable. When I ran it a message pops up that I need to run it with Admin rights even though I do have Admin rights for my User Account. Running it with Admin rights did indeed make it run. I bet you that if I ran this under W7 It would run without this message. This is what I meant about more prompts in W8.

I am guessing that since I have the UAC slider at it's lowest level this might be the cause of the message in light of the fact that under W8 UAC is not off using the slider. Maybe I would have gotten the usual UAC message when running the program if my slider was set to normal? I
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Homemade Rig
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 Quad 3770K @ 5 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator-GT 16GB @ 2400 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD7970 3GB OC Edition
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA246Q & PA249Q IPS 24" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 830, 840 256GB |
    2TB Seagate SATA3 |
    Hitachi eSata 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair Professional Series 1050W
    Case
    Corsair Obsididan 800D Full Tower
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K520
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Explorer
    Internet Speed
    120/35
    Browser
    Fx41
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    UEFI BIOS with a GPT SSD boot drive.
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