I want to completely disable all this security

[4eert5e]

Ok, so seems that ive been schooled. In my defence, am a recent XP convert that hates Vista's annoying UAC so my first thought with 7 was to turn it off and disable the security to get it back like XP which is apparently not the thing to do. What would you personally recommend for security settings? Leave UAC all the way on? run as a guest user only giving admin access to programs that need it to work and auto-setting them to always run as admin? I want non-intrusive, but apparently disabling it is not the way to go, even though it has worked in the past. Suggestions? I want to be secure, but not so much that it restricts and/or annoys me.

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

Ok, so seems that ive been schooled. In my defence, am a recent XP convert that hates Vista's annoying UAC so my first thought with 7 was to turn it off and disable the security to get it back like XP which is apparently not the thing to do. What would you personally recommend for security settings? Leave UAC all the way on? run as a guest user only giving admin access to programs that need it to work and auto-setting them to always run as admin? I want non-intrusive, but apparently disabling it is not the way to go, even though it has worked in the past. Suggestions? I want to be secure, but not so much that it restricts and/or annoys me.

I just use UAC at default and Microsoft Security Essentials. Doesn't restrict/annoy me one bit.

-

I should add that I haven't been infected at all this way either.

 

[pparks1]

As far as UAC is concerned, I left it at the default which is the third tick mark. This way, UAC notifies you when programs attempt to elevate to admin. The top tick mark simply notifies you when you make a change...which you already know that you are making since you have a handle on what you are doing.

I've not really had much of a need to change any of my program settings to run as admin. Which applications are you experiencing issues with and what are you trying to do?

 

[zigzag3143]

Ok, so seems that ive been schooled. In my defence, am a recent XP convert that hates Vista's annoying UAC so my first thought with 7 was to turn it off and disable the security to get it back like XP which is apparently not the thing to do. What would you personally recommend for security settings? Leave UAC all the way on? run as a guest user only giving admin access to programs that need it to work and auto-setting them to always run as admin? I want non-intrusive, but apparently disabling it is not the way to go, even though it has worked in the past. Suggestions? I want to be secure, but not so much that it restricts and/or annoys me.

Carey

You aren't the only one it annoys. UAC is intrusive. Some of us feel like you do and run with it off. We also run as admin. Did it in vista, doing it now. we just make sure we have good current av's and firewalls. Good malware etc. If we were a bit hard on you it is out of concern. We have had too many ppl who thought they were safe and "knew what they were doing" that we had to help format and re-install.

If the uac is problematic we can work around it and help you. welcome

Ken J

 

[torrentg]

This point of view has to be considered:

There are users that do backups. There are users that do not mind risking infection because of this. So to these users, running without any hassle and taking full risk is still a better alternative that to running with restrictions all the time.

For some people, computing is not their lives. If their machine gets wiped out, life goes on and some may have backup.

Only thing wrong with this is info possibly being stolen. Otherwise, if backup, who cares?...is my point.

Microsoft should be applauded for UAC but the instant my eyes first ever saw it on Vista, gone.

 

[4eert5e]

Adobe Updater wouldnt install updates and ApexDC++ was messing up. For ApexDC++ i just changed all of its directories out of program files and now it works. Also, i do have a good AV (MSE), i do frequent backups, and i run antimalwarebytes. Im not a complete idiot

 

[zigzag3143]

Adobe Updater wouldnt install updates and ApexDC++ was messing up. For ApexDC++ i just changed all of its directories out of program files and now it works. Also, i do have MSE, im not a complete idiot

Didnt figure you were but we get quite a few as you can imagine.

Welcome aboard Mate

Ken J

 

[4eert5e]

ok, so just clarifying, the only way to give a program acess to the program files directory is to run it as admin from the right click menu even if you are an administrator? or if you are an administrator does it have access without the right click -> run as admin?

and yes i can imagine

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

ok, so just clarifying, the only way to give a program acess to the program files directory is to run it as admin from the right click menu even if you are an administrator? or if you are an administrator does it have access without the right click -> run as admin?

and yes i can imagine

You could right click the program > Properties > Compatibility Tab > Check the 'Run this program as administrator' box.

That way you wont have to right click every time.

 

[pparks1]

This point of view has to be considered:

There are users that do backups. There are users that do not mind risking infection because of this. So to these users, running without any hassle and taking full risk is still a better alternative that to running with restrictions all the time.

For some people, computing is not their lives. If their machine gets wiped out, life goes on and some may have backup.

Only thing wrong with this is info possibly being stolen. Otherwise, if backup, who cares?...is my point.

Microsoft should be applauded for UAC but the instant my eyes first ever saw it on Vista, gone.

I'm the type that can recover in a heartbeat if my machine gets screwed up. I have a file server at home and everything important to me is on my server and not on my workstation. And I keep multiple backups, on external drives...some of which are offisite.

While I do have backups, I still don't accept the risks of running with all of the security disabled as I'm just as worried about somebody getting access to personal information or possibly compromising my identity.

I find it sad that so many, like you, simply disabled UAC the first instant they saw it. Like I said, I very rarely see an UAC prompts after getting my machine setup and working. And when I do see them, I have 1 button click. Certainly not a painstaking annoyance.

I mean with all of the owned Windows XP machines in the world, Microsoft had to do something to tighten down their security. And Unix/Linux have been using a similar system for many years and it's proven to be quite effective in those environments. Generally, even if a service is compromised, it's ability to compromise the rest of the system is almost non-existent.

But hey, it's a free world and I cannot stop anybody who really wants to disable their security. But I can say that as a systems engineer for a living and a person using PC's almost my entire life...I've rarely had a problem myself at home and can easily use my computers and do whatever I need to do with things like UAC enabled.

 

[torrentg]

PParks, don't think that I don't respect your experience, knowledge and opinions. If you did, you'd be wrong.

What it all comes down to is a user figuring out what is right for him/her.

What's right for me and many users is not having their screen turn dark with popups. When I install 7/Vista after not having done so in a while...then get the popup....I immediately cringe having forgotten it existed.

Absolutely right. Microsoft had to do something and they did excellent by letting user alter defaults easily. Win-win. Microsoft can no longer be blamed and user knows they are lowering security when they choose to do so.

As far as compromising identity or getting personal information goes: ZA is a good choice because it can block outgoing while setting and forgetting.

 

[pparks1]

PParks, don't think that I don't respect your experience, knowledge and opinions. If you did, you'd be wrong.

No, I don't think that at all. I think we have had a decent solid discussion..we are both just coming from different viewpoints.

What it all comes down to is a user figuring out what is right for him/her.

And that is fine with me, but hopefully this decision is made after learning a little and weighing the options carefully. However, I've found the overwhelming majority of users who when they first experienced UAC and it's rather poor implementation on day 1 with Vista who simply shut it off and now that's step 1 on their deployment guide. Many haven't really given the much improved UAC system on Windows 7 a chance, but rather just turned it off rather than learning to work with it. And I sit at a computer on average probably 12 hours a day and somehow manage to get through each and every day with UAC enabled and in place. I just really don't find that it pops up much at all...so it's really not a nuisance at all. I'm far more bothered by my instant messengers and email then I am UAC

What's right for me and many users is not having their screen turn dark with popups. When I install 7/Vista after not having done so in a while...then get the popup....I immediately cringe having forgotten it existed.

So under Windows 7, you can drop the UAC system down to the 2nd tick mark and it no longer darkens your screen. And remember that it only darkens now when APPLICATIONS try to elevate to admin and do admin tasks. It doesn't do it when the user manually does something like system configuration in the control panel, etc.

As far as compromising identity or getting personal information goes: ZA is a good choice because it can block outgoing while setting and forgetting.

I've had problems with ZA just going nuts on machines sometimes and causing unexplainable behavior. I find that my hardware firewall (router), with Windows firewall, with either AVG, Avira or MSE for A/V, using malwarebytes or sbybot S&D usually keeps me running well.

 

[torrentg]

Many haven't really given the much improved UAC system on Windows 7 a chance, but rather just turned it off rather than learning to work with it.

Admittedly, I fall into this category.

ZoneAlarm can be hit or miss sometimes. True. It's all about finding the correct version number and sticking with it. Once they fix something though, it doesn't tend to reappear. So future versions usually don't exhibit same problem any longer.

For instance, I once couldn't cleanly shut down my system with it. It would hang indefinitely. And one version broke Winamp completely. They fixed those things fortunately. These are betas though, too, that I'm describing.

 

[Clyde37]

unbelievable

It completely amazes me that someone can ask for something and those that are there to help try to sell that person something completely different than what they asked for.

The person that started this thread specifically stated they didnt get viruses before on windows XP and they wanted to get loosen the security on windows 7 because of how much it slows everything down!

The first 2 pages of this thread is everyone trying to convince the poor guy he is wrong in wanting what he wants, and he eventually gives up and says basically, "ok, since your not going to give me what I want, what can you do to help"

I agree with the person carey, windows 7 is a resource hog and slows down the computer. I still prefer windows xp over windows 7 for usability/speed... when your doing multiple things, time and speed matters.

Don't give me the bs about viruses.... if we are smart enough to ask the question to turn off security then we know what the risks are and don't need a lecture from the "IT professionals" as to what can happen. Just give us what we ask for. Want to give your opinion when its not asked... fine.. but give us what we asked for too.

I had to read through all this garbage, hoping to find a answer the question carey asked.. but no, waste of time.

btw, Norton Ghost is a great option for those that want to screw with their computer... they can always revert back to previous backup.... exact 0s and 1s.... backed up every hour baby... eat it!

 

[Tews]

You do realize that this post is four months old?

 

[TheSchaft]

Welcome to sevenforums, Clyde37.

Sorry that your first experience wasn't that good, but the folks here are just trying to help.

We've had people ask about re-flashing their BIOS to get better performance. While it might be a solution, the tendency here is to warn against doing things that can cause you serious problems.

Do you want to disable all the security on your system? If so, we can offer suggestions.

 

[jav]

Hello Clyde37
I can see answer to the Thread Starter's question at the very first post.
Disabling UAC and running as admin should have solved almost all his problems.
I don't know why this thread have gone so far.

Please post back, if you need anything more specific for yourself.

It completely amazes me that someone can ask for something and those that are there to help try to sell that person something completely different than what they asked for.

btw, Norton Ghost is a great option for those that want to screw with their computer... they can always revert back to previous backup.... exact 0s and 1s.... backed up every hour baby... eat it!

Sarcasm?

 

[4eert5e]

Just as an update of sorts (got a notification email and checked back here) I did end up completely disabling UAC and running from an admin account. Now everything works without configuring and it doesnt annoy me at all, yet i still have never had a virus. And if i get one, well, thats what backups are for.

 

[pparks1]

It completely amazes me that someone can ask for something and those that are there to help try to sell that person something completely different than what they asked for.

I'm one of those who suggested that turning off the security might not be wise. Part of my reasoning for this stems from the fact that many just assume or hear that it slows down performance, and thus they want it off. Or since they had to turn it off in Vista, assume the same holds true for Windows 7. Even in this thread, people mentioned their dislike for UAC stemmed from Vista and they didn't even give it a chance in Windows 7...they "assumed" it was the same thing and just turned it off. Hopefully some of my comments have at least encouraged some to take another look.

I'm not usually the type who will flame or attack a person for what they want to do, but rather just provide as much credible evidence as I can to hopefully encourage some thinking about the subject at hand.

btw, Norton Ghost is a great option for those that want to screw with their computer... they can always revert back to previous backup.... exact 0s and 1s.... backed up every hour baby... eat it!

My concern with resorting to a backup is
#1). If you have other machines on your local network, you might also compromise them...thus having to restore everything.

#2). If you connect via VPN to a work location and otherwise, you risk infecting that network if you do something to screw up your computer.

#3). You put other people on the Internet and such at risk if you unknowingly become a bot and start to attack others. While this isn't necessary your problem, it is a consequence of the actions.

And how much time is lost running these backups? Clearly these apps have overhead and slow down the computer. Couple that with the time to restore to get back to a previous point in time. My guess is that the amount of time here is far greater than a handful of UAC prompts. My point is that while some of the security measures slow you down a bit, so do the methods used to work around these measures as well.

 

[BikerNerd]

I'm a noob here, I know this post is several years old but I'm on the same terms of desires as the original poster; I want to disable ALL Win7 securities. I've already run thru the paces of extensive internet searches w/no joy and the guidance that I've found so far has helped some, but there's a few obstacles I still need to get around concerning the registry & scripting lockdowns. I want to ease all security restrictions just as WinXP had.

I build WinXP VLK images for NON-internet connected systems and my organization is switching over from WinXP to Win7. My images are built using Symantec Ghost and a single system can be rebuilt in less than 10 minutes. I've automated many processes (silent software installs, custom registry entries) by the use of scripts (vbs & batch) and I wish to continue doing so with the Win7 build, but the securities in place remain a burden.

Any worries of virus's/worms/trojans are negated but if malware does appear on the system, a quick Ghost reimage of the computer and things return to normal.

I appreciate the securities for a home system/basic user but when it comes to a professional build, I prefer to have full control of the level of security.

I appreciate any assistance/suggestions the forum members can provide.

BTW, I'm using Win7 Pro Enterprise, w/Token-Based Activation (TBA).

Tom