Tweak User Account Control

User Account Control (UAC) in Vista was one of the weak points and target for critics. Thankfully, Windows 7 allows you to tone it down. To change UAC settings navigate to Control Panel –> Action Center –> User Account Control Settings. The slider allows you to set the notification level (or even disable user account control). If you want more control fire up the Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit.msc in the start menu search box. Browse to Computer Configuration/Windows Settings/Security Settings/Local Policies/Security Options. At the bottom of the list you would find the following UAC settings :

§ User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account.

§ User Account Control: Allow UIAccess applications to prompt for elevation without using the secure desktop.

§ User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode.

§ User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompts for standard users.

§ User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation.

§ User Account Control: Only elevate executables that are signed and validated.

§ User Account Control: Only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations.

§ User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode (i.e. as standard users).

§ User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations.

To edit any setting select properties from the right click context menu.