In Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista OS, User Account Control (UAC) is a feature that is designed to prevent unauthorized changes to your operating system. In today’s post, we will attempt to provide an explanation as to why UAC blocks the elevation of executable applications that are signed with revoked certificates in Windows 11/10.
A UAC prompt is shown, asking for permission when an application wants to make a system change like changes that affect other user accounts, modifications to Windows system files and folders, installation of new software.
If the user clicks or taps No, the change won’t be carried out. If the user clicks or taps Yes (and enters the administrator password, if required) the application receives administrative permissions, and it can make the system changes it wants. These permissions are given only until the application stops running, or it is closed by the user. The same goes for files that trigger a UAC prompt.
There are four different alert messages that can be associated with User Account Control. They are as follows:
- Windows needs your permission to continue
- A program needs your permission to continue
- An unidentified program wants access to your computer
- This program has been blocked
Also, there are many changes that require administrative privileges. Depending on how UAC is configured on your Windows computer, they can cause a UAC prompt to show up and request for permission. These are as follows:
- Running an app as administrator
- Changes to system-wide settings or files in the Windows or Program Files folders
- Installing and uninstalling drivers & applications
- Viewing or changing another user’s folders and files
- Adding or removing user accounts
- Configuring Windows Update
- Changing settings to the Windows Firewall
- Changing UAC settings
- Changing a user’s account type
- Running Task Scheduler
- Restoring backed up system files
- Changing the system date and time
- Configuring Parental Controls or Family Safety
- Installing ActiveX controls (in Internet Explorer)
- Making changes to the registry
Related: Fix To continue, type an administrator password UAC error.
UAC blocks elevation of executable applications that are signed with revoked certificates
In Windows 10, new User Account Control (UAC) behavior disallows/blocks the elevation of running applications that use revoked certificates to sign executable binary files.
This behavior prevents users from running certain applications. For example, users cannot run applications whose binary files are signed with stolen certificates.
According to Microsoft, to run an application, you must have the binaries files signed with valid certificates.
Hope this post is clarifying enough!
Read: This app has been blocked for your protection message in Windows 11/10.