What Is User Account Control (UAC)?

Do you know when you're rushing and want to get to work? Or you're at the airport, and you want to go home? We understand. We get it. You want to get where you're going, and you want to do it now. Sometimes, things get in your plans, User Account Control (UAC). What is UAC? It's a Windows feature that sets user authorization levels within the operating system. With User Account Control, a standard user starts with basic privileges until an administrator authorizes new requests for that user. User Account Control comes with Microsoft operating systems like Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows 8 and Windows 10, and some Windows server OS versions. User Account Control (UAC) was created to help fight malware and has been doing well. There are more things it can do! UAC also lets you keep your computer safe by letting you control who can use the different parts of your system. For example, if you're using Windows 10, UAC will let you know when someone tries installing software on your computer. You can choose whether or not they have permission to do so based on their account status, which can be anything from administrator to a standard user. If someone tries to install something onto your computer without administrator privileges, UAC will let them proceed with the installation once an administrator approves it. This is how User Account Control works: You're a user, and you want to install an application. Microsoft says that this application needs Administrator privileges to run, so you must request permission from the Administrator account when installing it. The computer then shows a UAC prompt asking if you want to allow the installation of this program. It is fine and dandy until you work on a computer with multiple users. If one of them is an Administrator, they can install programs without being prompted for permission by another user (which is often the case). It means that supporting UAC can be challenging if you've got a friend who likes to install stuff for everyone else on their computer (and then need to remember about it). Some people have disabled UAC entirely because they found it too frustrating!