Vista Program Access Control

maltmaster · Post by **maltmaster** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 12:55 pm

I just migrated to a new computer with Vista pre-installed. Every time I start UE I am prompted for authorization. I suspect that this is due to the way UE is installed...simple unzip. I have searched out general discussions of User Access Control, but the consensus seems to be that there isn't much to be done from the user end. Programs need to be "Vista-compatible".

Does anyone know of a way to get past this annoyance?

Thanks, Tom

Josef K · Post by **Josef K** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 2:35 pm

It's definitely Vista that's giving you the prompt and not some firewall? I've turned off UAC but I don't remember UE causing this prompt before. Have you right-clicked the shortcut->Shortcut tab->Advanced->Run as administrator?

I do remember (before turning off UAC) that UE was better running in another location than %Program Files%. Maybe I had this happen before and I just can't remember it. Try putting the entire UE directory on another path, even in Documents or on the Desktop.

alex · Post by **alex** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:08 am

on my prior runs in vista, UE was working without the need to run it as administrator and didn't ask for permissions on default vista install, i didn't try to run it from program files folder, i'm not sure if it brings any difference.

the only restriction is UE cannot associate itself with nzb / par2 files when not running as administrator, it is because with non-admin permissions certain registry locations are not writeable, so when the user tries to associate those in properties UE will give an error message box suggesting you'll run it as administrator to perform the action (then you can run it as user again). but association is manual, so it doesn't happen on start as well and the registry write function just fails without triggering the system alert.

what exact authorization message do you get from vista?

maltmaster · Post by **maltmaster** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:52 am

I've narrowed it down to "User Access Control". When active (appearing in the title bar) it tell me "An unidentified program wants access to your computer" and I am prompted to Allow or Cancel. When inactive, UE starts immediately.

I will have to further understand UAC, what it does and its benefit (if any) and if I can afford to turn it off. I would like to run what I want without hassle when logged in as Admin. If anyone following this thread can point me to info on UAC, I would be grateful.

Thanks all for your help. My problem is not a UE problem, as such.

Regards, Tom

alex · Post by **alex** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:12 am

http://www.ghacks.net/2007/02/28/an-uni ... -computer/

i'm not sure how to understand this phrase:

"It basically ensures that malicious programs can’t be run using administrative privileges without the administrator first accepting it."

if you are trying to run it as administrator, can you run it with the standard user privileges? it doesn't need administrator privileges, except when manually applying once those two settings i mentioned above.

bassie · Post by **bassie** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:32 am

one of the reasons i went back to xp is this kind of notifications.

I also had one program with this kind of problems. And there was no way to get rid of this kind of nonsense (fake security things).

So happy with xp again.

Josef K · Post by **Josef K** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:54 am

alex wrote:"It basically ensures that malicious programs can’t be run using administrative privileges without the administrator first accepting it."

Pretty much it means that if you want to allow something that Vista has prompted you for, then it will be on your shoulders should anything go wrong. If you have no AV installed and you allow a virus to run/install, it will infect your system if you allow it. It's all down to your own choice and the knowledge you have of what caused the prompt in the first place. Really, UAC is only useful for stopping background processes silently installing software without your permission. If you have a decent AV/Firewall with its own built in security checks, you can safely turn off UAC. A lot of people will just blindly click to allow permission anyway just to get rid of the prompt. At the same time, many will also deny driver installs because the UAC wording is fairly doom and gloom-ish. Who would want to allow something to run which 'may harm your computer'...?

Running UE from Program Files will give you problems of its own when UAC is turned on. Try upgrading UE for instance. Vista will not let you simply copy files into any subdirectory of Program Files unless it's run through an installer that you allowed. Similarly, write permissions get in the way. I ran with UAC on for a while because I needed to understand how it works. A simple job like getting my TV card to work properly was a nightmare with UAC on.

maltmaster wrote:I will have to further understand UAC, what it does and its benefit (if any) and if I can afford to turn it off.

It's a nice idea but clunkily implemented and annoying. Turn it off and use decent AV/Firewall instead.

Cynyster · Post by **Cynyster** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:26 am

Just to add my two cents.

I am running UE on Vista Ultimate with UAC active!

I think the issue is that you have it running from the program files directory.

I am running UE from my D-drive it is actually a drive I have dedicated for just UE and storage.

UAC never comes up when I try and run UE and I am logged in as a normal user.

I would suggest installing the program to some other top level folder and set full access to yourself.

Hope that helps you

Cheers