Divide By Zero - a blog by Kamran Ayub

Let me just say I am not a fan of UAC, the User Account Control feature in Windows Vista. Ya know, the thing that comes up whenever you want to make any change at all?

I just read an article at PC Magazine on security in Windows 7 and it seems that UAC is still poorly implemented in Windows 7. For me, I just don't want it. I've maybe only ever gotten malware once in a year.

I want to echo the author's thoughts on what Microsoft should do for UAC:

"Never ask whether to allow elevated privilege to a known, valid program—certainly never ask when it's a Windows component. And if it's not a known program, examine all of its behaviors, not just the fact that it needs Administrator privilege. Then make a considered analysis of the program and allow or block it. Don't foist that responsibility off on the user."

I agree wholeheartedly. I hate when UAC asks for permission when I myself run a program. Of course I want it to run. The only time you should ask is if I downloaded the file. But see, the problem is that I expect spyware detection when I run an installer, so UAC shouldn't even bother me unless there's a problem.

You know what's even worse? When I want to copy and paste files. Seriously, don't ask me when I manually copy/paste, I know that I want to make changes. LEAVE ME ALONE.

Right now UAC is a failed security attempt. Either improve it tenfold or just get rid of it, no one likes it at all.