Security: UAC Gets Tolerable
Let's talk about User Account Control ? the Windows
Vista security element that was a prominent example for
everything that bothered people about that OS. UAC aimed to
prevent rogue software from tampering with your PC by
endlessly prompting you to approve running applications or
changing settings. The experience was so grating that many
users preferred to turn UAC [PARTICLE] and [VERB] their
chances with Internet attackers. Those who left it active risked
slipping into the habit of incautiously clicking through every
prompt, defeating whatever value the feature might have had.
Whereas Vista's notorious User Account Control gave
users no control over the feature other than to turn it off,
Windows 7's version of UAC lets users choose from two
intermediate notification levels between 'Always notify' and
'Never notify'.
Windows 7 gives you control over UAC, in the form of a
slider containing four security settings. As before, you can
accept the full-blown UAC or elect to disable it. But you can also
tell UAC to notify you only when software changes Windows
settings, not when you're tweaking them yourself. And you can
instruct it not to perform the abrupt screen-dimming effect that
Vista's version uses to grab your attention.
If Microsoft had its druthers, all Windows 7 users [TO
USE] UAC in full-tilt mode: The slider that you use to ratchet
back its severity advises you not to do so if you routinely install
new software or visit unfamiliar sites, and it warns that disabling
the dimming effect is "Not recommended." 
, Redmond: I
have every intention of recommending the intermediate settings
to most people who ask me for advice, since those settings
retain most of UAC's theoretical value without driving users
bonkers.(Adapted from
http://www.pcworld.com/article/172602/windows_7_review.html)
