UAC suddenly asking for ALL programs (ie: Word, Excel, notepad, AV)

[morph]

Have a computer that was brought to me that may have been infected with some Malware. There was, and we were able to remove it. But now there's a problem were UAC is popping up and asking for all programs to run. and I do mean ALL.

When you start up a computer, as soon as you log into the machine it will run through all the programs that have to start (located in the startup folder or the RUN area in Regedit)
For each program that has to run you can to click through a UAC window to allow that program to run. Every time. And I understand that you might get UAC for some programs, but all of them? Word? Excel? Notepad?

I don't really want to turn UAC off, but at the same time I wonder if UAC has a database of accepted software and it's been corrupted or removed?

 

[MongoFongo]

UAC

@morph

Once a machine is infected with malware it can never be trusted again. I think the UAC problem you are having may be a sign that the system is still under the influence of malware even though the malware was ostensibly removed.

My approach would be to wipe the drive and reinstall the OS and Apps.

 

[AlvitrValkyrie]

Check the User Account Control Settings. Is the bar set all the way up? I have mine set to the first setting: Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop). Run a scan with Hitman Pro. Here's the link: Downloads - SurfRight. It works great! It's a cloud scanner that uses sigs from multiple firms. It'll boot before windows to remove extra pescky malware. If you don't seem clean, use Superantispyware and Spybot.

And true. You never know if you're 100% clean. But most infections are low-key without any special technology. And sec firms are getting faster, better, and stronger, so you should be fine. However, if you have a BOOTkit, reformatting the drive may not help. You need to scrap the physical BIOS!