PELICAN RAPIDS, MN: Although the User Account Control (UAC) feature in Vista, 7 and 8 is a security feature, some people will find its constant popup messages annoying.
If you’re one of them, here’s how to disable user account control (UAC) in Vista, Windows 7 and, even, Windows 8 Developer Preview.
Caution: UAC is a security feature that lets you know what programs are trying to access the Internet. If you’re a beginner with computing, leave it on for now, Grasshopper. If you do disable it, do so temporarily only.
To disable UAC in Vista or Windows 7, click Start. Then type into the search box:
uac
Hit Enter.
User Account Control Settings opens. The default setting is show here.
Move the slider down to Never Notify and click OK.
User Account Control comes up asking if you’re sure you want to change the settings. Click Yes.
A notification balloon comes up letting you know a restart is required to turn UAC off. Go ahead and restart your system. When you get back you’ll no longer be annoyed by UAC popping up all the time.
To disable UAC in Windows 8 Developer Preview, from the Metro UI, click or tap Control Panel.
Control Panel opens. Scroll down and select More Settings.
The traditional Control Panel you’re used to in Windows 7 and Vista opens. Click Category then Large Icons.
Now, scroll down and click User Accounts.
On the next screen click on Change User Account Control Settings.
Now drag the slider down to Never Notify, just like you would with Windows 7 or Vista. Click OK.
User Account Control comes up. Click Yes.
You might want to temporarily turn off UAC — say you are installing a lot of problems at once via a utility like Ninite — just remember to turn it back on if that’s the intent.
