Windows 10 & Co .: Customize user account control

Windows 10 Notebook


The user account control (UAC) displays the desktop and displays a message box when installing with admin rights: "Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer?" Many users want to customize this protection feature .


You can find the configuration of the user account control in Windows 8.1 via the icon of the maintenance center in the taskbar and the selection of the menu item Change settings of the user account control. In Windows 10, use the wscui.cpl tool directly from the search box. This command also works in Windows 8.1


On PCs with Windows 8.1 / 10 Pro, the behavior of user account control can also be configured using a group policy. You can find the necessary settings via Computer Configuration / Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options


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In the basic edition of Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, you can make the settings through the registry database. To do so, tap regedit on the Home screen or the Start menu. Then, first export the registry database (file / export) to a secure location for security. By double-clicking on it, you can then undo the changes described below in an emergency.


Then open the path HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ System. There are three binary values ​​that you can customize


If you set ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin to 0, suppress the query for administrator rights on the machine. Setting 5 has the same setting as if you set the slider to the "Only when apps are making changes to the computer" setting in the Pro edition of Windows 8.1 / 10.


Together with the value 1 for PromptOnSecure Desktop, the value 5 for ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin is the same as the default value of user account control. If you set the value to 2, Windows is the same as the "Always alert in the following situations," the highest security setting.


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ConsentPromptBehaviorUser controls the user control of the default users (0 deactivated, 3 switched on), also regarding administrator rights query. PromptOnSecureDesktop suppresses the darkening of the desktop (switch from 1 to 0) when Windows 8.1 asks for administrator rights. This setting has the advantage that the PC is protected against attacks and displays the message field but no longer prevents access to the rest of the screen.