How to Change User Account Control (UAC) Settings in Windows 8 and 8.1

User Account Control (UAC) helps prevent potentially harmful programs from making changes to your computer by notifying you before changes are made to your PC that require administrator-level (elevated) permission.
By default, UAC is set to notify you whenever apps try to make changes to your PC, but you can change how often UAC notifies you.
Accessibility devices or apps—such as screen readers—work best with either the Always notify me or the Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer UAC setting.
This will show you how to change the User Account Control (UAC) settings for when to be notified about changes to your computer in Windows 8.
You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.
By default, UAC is set to notify you whenever apps try to make changes to your PC, but you can change how often UAC notifies you.
Accessibility devices or apps—such as screen readers—work best with either the Always notify me or the Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer UAC setting.
This will show you how to change the User Account Control (UAC) settings for when to be notified about changes to your computer in Windows 8.
You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

This table describes each UAC setting and how it can impact your PC's security.
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Setting
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Description
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Security impact
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[TR][TD]
Always notify me
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[/TD]
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[TR][TD]
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[/TD]
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[TR][TD]
Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default)
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[/TD]
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[/TD]
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Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (don't dim my desktop)
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[/TD]
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[TR][TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
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[TR][TD]
Never notify me
[/TD]
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[/TD]
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[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
[TABLE=class:-grid,-width:-715][TR][TD]
Setting
[/TD]
[TD]
Description
[/TD]
[TD]
Security impact
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[TR][TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Always notify me
[/TD]
[TD]
- You'll be notified before apps make changes to your PC or to Windows settings that require administrator permissions.
- When you're notified, your screen will be dimmed, and you must either approve or deny the request in the UAC dialog box before you can do anything else on your PC.
[/TD]
[TD]
- This is the most secure setting.
- When you're notified, you should carefully read the contents of each dialog box before allowing changes to be made to your PC.
- See Warning box below.
- Standard users will be prompted to enter an administrator's password to approve.
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[TR][TD]
[/TD]
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[/TD]
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[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default)
[/TD]
[TD]
- You'll be notified before apps make changes to your PC that require administrator permissions.
- You'll be notified if an app tries to make changes to a Windows setting.
- You won't be notified if you try to make changes to Windows settings that require administrator permissions.
[/TD]
[TD]
- It's usually safe to allow changes to be made to Windows settings without you being notified. However, certain apps that come with Windows can have commands or data passed to them, and malicious software can take advantage of this by using these apps to install files or change settings on your PC. You should always be careful about which apps you allow to run on your PC.
- Standard users will be prompted to enter an administrator's password to approve.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (don't dim my desktop)
[/TD]
[TD]
- You'll be notified before apps make changes to your PC that require administrator permissions.
- You'll be notified if an app tries to make changes to a Windows setting.
- You won't be notified if you try to make changes to Windows settings that require administrator permissions.
[/TD]
[TD]
- This setting is the same as "Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer," but your desktop won't get dimmed.
- If you choose this option, other apps might be able to interfere with the visual appearance of the UAC dialog box. This is a security risk, especially if there's malware on your PC.
- Standard users will be prompted to enter an administrator's password to approve.
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
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[TR][TD]
Never notify me
[/TD]
[TD]
- You won't be notified before any changes are made to your PC.
- If you're signed in as an administrator, apps can make changes to your PC without your knowledge.
- If you're signed in as a standard user, any changes that require administrator permissions will automatically be denied.
[/TD]
[TD]
- This is the least secure setting. When you set UAC to never notify, you open up your PC to potential security risks.
- If you set UAC to never notify, you should be careful about which apps you run, because they'll have the same access to the PC as you do. This includes reading and making changes to protected system areas, your personal data, saved files, and anything else stored on the PC. Apps will also be able to communicate and transfer info to and from anything your PC connects with, including the Internet.
[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

If you set UAC to the top Always notify me level, then you will not be able to refresh and reset Windows 8. These features require UAC to be set to the default or lower levels to work.
DO NOT use the old Windows 7 and Vista method of setting the EnableLUA registry DWORD to 0 (zero) to completely disable UAC. If you do this in Windows 8, it will break modern apps preventing them from being able to run until EnableLUA is set back to 1 and restart the computer. Use the steps in the tutorial below instead for Windows 8.
Setting the EnableLUA registry DWORD to 0 (zero) will also disable Protected Mode in Internet Explorer which means that you will also not be able to have 64-bit IE10/11 until EnableLUA is set back to 1 and restart the computer.
DO NOT use the old Windows 7 and Vista method of setting the EnableLUA registry DWORD to 0 (zero) to completely disable UAC. If you do this in Windows 8, it will break modern apps preventing them from being able to run until EnableLUA is set back to 1 and restart the computer. Use the steps in the tutorial below instead for Windows 8.
Setting the EnableLUA registry DWORD to 0 (zero) will also disable Protected Mode in Internet Explorer which means that you will also not be able to have 64-bit IE10/11 until EnableLUA is set back to 1 and restart the computer.
EXAMPLE: User Account Control (UAC) Prompt
OPTION ONE
To Change UAC Settings in User Accounts
1. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the User Accounts icon.
2. Click/tap on the Change User Account Control settings link. (see screenshot below)
3. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.
4. Move the slider up or down to the setting for how you want to be notified by UAC, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshots below)
5. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.
6. When finished, you can close the User Accounts window.
OPTION TWO
To Change UAC Settings using a REG File Download
1. Do step 2, 3, 4, or 5 below for how you want to be notified by UAC.
2. For "Always notify me"
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
UAC_Always_Notify.reg
3. For "Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default)"
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
UAC_Default.reg
4. For "Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (don't dim my desktop)"
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
UAC_Do-Not-Dim.reg
5. For "Never notify me"
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
UAC_Never_Notify.reg
6. Save the .reg file to your desktop.
7. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.
8. If prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
9. When finished, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn
Related Tutorials
- How to Create a User Account Control (UAC) Settings Shortcut in Windows 8 and 8.1
- How to Run a Program as an Administrator in Windows 8 and 8.1
- How to See if Process is running as administrator (elevated) in Windows 8 and 8.1
- How to Enable or Disable the Built-in Elevated "Administrator" Account Windows 8 and 8.1
- Troubleshoot and Fix Store App Issues with "Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter" in Windows 8 and 8.1
- How to Change Behavior of User Account Control (UAC) Prompt for Standard Users
- How to Change Behavior of User Account Control (UAC) Prompt for Administrators in Windows
- Enable or Disable User Account Control (UAC) Prompt for Built-in Administrator in Windows
- How to Enable or Disable User Account Control (UAC) Blacking Out of Screen in Windows
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