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Published on 04.02.08 by Brent Trahan

Turn Off User Account Control

Learn how to turn off User Account Control (UAC) in Windows Vista.

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Why You Shouldn’t Turn UAC Off

User Account Control can be annoying, but it’s an extra layer of protection that protects your computer from viruses, hackers, and poorly written software.

UAC lets you know when someone or something is trying to change a setting or install/uninstall software on your computer. It also removes administrative rights from software making it harmless to critical system files and services.

Before UAC, settings could be changed and software could be installed/uninstalled without you knowing. Software running under an account with admin rights also had full admin rights which gave it full access to critical system files and services.

Turn Off User Account Control

You must be logged in as a user with admin rights to turn UAC off.

  1. Click the Start orb and select Control Panel.
  2. Click Classic View on the left side of the Control Panel.
  3. Open User Accounts.
  4. Click Turn User Account Control on or off.

  5. Uncheck Use User Account Control and then click OK.

  6. Restart your computer.

Turn User Account Control On

Follow the instruction above and check off Use User Account Control in step 5.

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