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Change, Enable, Disable User Account Control (UAC) settings in Windows 11

Microsoft has made the implementation of the User Account Control settings much friendlier on Windows 11/10. After getting feedback that in Windows Vista, that the User Account Control or UAC prompt would often irritate users, due to its frequent appearance, Microsoft reduced the appearance of the UAC prompts and further polished and improved upon the UAC user experience.

User Account Control (UAC) in Windows 11/10

Do you want to allow this app to make changes message?

The User Account Control basically notifies you before changes are made to your PC – not all changes, but only those which require Administrator level permissions. These changes could have been initiated by the user, by the operating system, by genuine software, or even by malware! Every time such an administrator-level change is initiated, Windows UAC will prompt the user for approval or denial. If the user approves the change, the change is made; otherwise, no changes are made to the system. Till such a time that the UAC appears, the screen may go dark.

Broadly speaking, the following are some of the actions that may trigger a UAC prompt:

Install or Uninstall of applications
Changing Firewall settings
Installing Drivers & ActiveX controls
Installing/Configuring Windows Update
Adding/Removing/Changing user accounts/types
Accessing, Viewing or Changing another User’s files & folders
Configuring Parental Controls
Running the Task Scheduler
Restoring backup system files
And even while changing UAC settings

Its default settings are:

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Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer

Whenever the UAC Consent Prompt appears and asks for your permission, you may have noticed that it darkens the screen and temporarily turns off the Aero interface – and it appears without the transparency. This is called Secure Desktop and is a security feature in Windows. The credential prompt is presented when a standard user attempts to perform a task that requires a user’s administrative access token.

The UAC elevation prompts are color-coded to be application-specific, enabling for immediate identification of an application’s potential security risk.

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Read: UAC Yes button missing or grayed out.

Change User Account Control (UAC) settings

If you wish, you can change User Account Control settings in Windows 8. You can change its behavior and decide how often or when all, the UAC should notify you.

To do so, open Control Panel and select User Accounts.

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Click on Change User Account Control settings. The settings box will open.

Use the vertical slider to change the settings. The changes you make will impact your security settings, so while its best to leave the User Account Control settings at its default, you should be aware of how the changes in the UAC setting will impact your Windows PC’s security.

Setting	Description	Security impact
Always notify me	You’ll be notified before apps make changes to your settings that require administrator permissions. When you’re notified, your screen will be dimmed, and you must either approve or deny the request.	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.
Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default)	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.	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.
Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (don’t dim my desktop)	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.	This setting is the same as “Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer,” but your desktop will not dim. If you choose this option, other apps might be able to interfere with the visual appearance of the UAC dialog box. This poses a security risk, especially if your PC is infected with malware.
Never notify me	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 with a standard user account, any changes that require administrator permissions will automatically be denied.	This is the least secure setting. When you set UAC to never notify, you effectively turn off UAC. This opens 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.

If you are using an accessibility device, such as a screen reader, Microsoft recommends that you choose either the Always notify or the Default – Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer UAC setting, since Assistive technologies work best with these two settings.

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Read: How to turn off or disable Secure Desktop in Windows.

How to Disable UAC in Windows 11?

As discussed, to disable UAC in Windows 11/10, open Control Panel > User Accounts > Click on Change User Account Control settings > Move the vertical slider to Never Prompt. You can also use the Registry to do this.

To do so, open regedit and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

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Change the value of EnableLUA key, from its default 1 to Value data 0. This will disable the UAC.

You can read more about all the UAC Group Policy Settings and Registry Key Settings here at TechNet.

Read: How to turn off or disable Secure Desktop in Windows

How to disable UAC prompt for a single application?

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While you should not disable the UAC prompts for the whole computer, you may want to disable it for certain applications. Using the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit and following the steps below, you can disable the UAC prompts for one or more specific applications that you trust. This will NOT disable the User Account Control feature for the whole computer.

Create a system restore point first.
Download and install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.
In the Start menu, locate the new folder. Find the shortcut icon for Compatibility Administrator. Right-click it and click Run as administrator.
In the left-hand pane, right-click on the database under Custom Databases and select Create New, and select Application Fix.
Enter the name and other details of the application you want to alter behavior on and then browse to it to select it. Click Next.
Click Next until you are in the Compatibility Fixes screen.
On the Compatibility Fixes screen, find the item RunAsInvoker, and check it.
Click Next and then Finish.
Select File and Save As. Save the file as a filename.SDB type file in a directory you will easily find it.
Copy the <filename>.sdb file to the Vista computer you want to alter the elevation prompt behavior on.
Open a Command Prompt as administrator.
Run the command: sdbinst <path>\<filename>.sdb
For example, if you saved the .SDB file as abc.sdb in the c:\Windows folder, the command should be like this: sdbinst c:\windows\abc.sdb
It should prompt: Installation of <name> complete.

Have a great day!

Check this if you cannot change User Account Control (UAC) settings.

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AnandK@TWC

Anand Khanse is the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, a 10-year Microsoft MVP (2006-16) & a Windows Insider MVP (2016-2022). Please read the entire post & the comments first, create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system & be careful about any 3rd-party offers while installing freeware.