Likewise; UAC only takes a signal from a series of keystrokes to determine that there is some level of POTENTIAL that something bad could happen to your computer.
No, it doesn't. It detects that you are accessing a secure location (through the use of security tokens, see below) and asks if you are sure this is what you want to do.
In the case of Spyware/malware ,,, if it tries to directly access these areas, the UAC will prompt you for confirmation that it is actually what you want to do.
Technically, it is not recommended to run as an admin anyway. - (yes I realize that is the default account created, but ignorance is no excuse)
People are supposed to run as a Standard User and Elevate with Admin Credentials when needed. - (This should be the primary lesson at all times)
This is far more secure environment than running as Admin with UAC and AntiVirus. - (As done in a properly setup Linux environment.)
But Windows users have been conditioned otherwise - (and incorrectly I might add).
No, it's not perfect and things can and do bypass it. It is not a perfect solution, but it is better in some cases (those cases when you thought you wanted to do something that you think twice about doing when prompted by UAC, ie: installing a piece of software you really aren't sure of. Or an attack from some website, and yes, I have had it save me and inform me taht some website I hit was trying to make changes to my system.) than running without it.
I am not going to debate you any longer on this issue. Run with it or don't, that is your choice.
But just because you do not know how, or that it actually does work, does not make you right or it useless.
See
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc709691(WS.10).aspx
Also See.....
Engineering Windows 7 : Update on UAC
UAC also helps software developers improve their programs to run without requiring administrator privileges. The most effective way to secure a system against malware is to run with standard user privileges. As more software works well without administrator privileges, more people will run as standard user. We expect that anyone responsible for a set of Windows 7 machines (such as IT Administrators or the family helpdesk worker (like me!)) will administer them to use standard user accounts. The recent feedback has noted explicitly that running as standard user works well. Administrators also have Group Policy at their disposal to enforce the UAC setting to “Always Notify†if they choose to manage their machines with administrator accounts instead of standard user accounts.
So Software Devs have, for a long time, been advised to stop requiring ADMIN PRIV's for thier damned software.
This is the main reason that Quickbooks was broken when Vista first released, and prompted Quickbooks to recode their software (maybe make some updates and add some features also, but regardless, it was uncalled for at the time) and sell it as a new version, just to run under a standard user account (even though there was a work around at the time). But they weren't the only ones that forced users to run as full admins without UAC.
I am not saying that UAC doesn't have it's problems,,, and for some it is annoying (mainly those who use their system in a particular way, they are not the average user), but it is annoying to many because they are not used to it either.
You can stick to your story till your blue in the face,,, it doesn't make it right.
and.....
Even more damaging, because the user is an administrator, the malicious software could use the administrator's access control data to infect core operating system files and, in some instances, to become nearly impossible to remove.
The primary difference between a standard user and an administrator in Windows Vista is the level of access the user has over core, protected areas of the computer. Administrators can change system state, turn off the firewall, configure security policy, install a service or a driver that affects every user on the computer, and install software for the entire computer. Standard users cannot perform these tasks and can only install per-user software.
To help prevent malicious software from silently installing and causing computer-wide infection, Microsoft developed the UAC feature. Unlike previous versions of Windows, when an administrator logs on to a computer running Windows Vista, the user’s full administrator access token is split into two access tokens: a full administrator access token and a standard user access token. During the logon process, authorization and access control components that identify an administrator are removed, resulting in a standard user access token. The standard user access token is then used to start the desktop, the Explorer.exe process. Because all applications inherit their access control data from the initial launch of the desktop, they all run as a standard user as well.
After an administrator logs on, the full administrator access token is not invoked until the user attempts to perform an administrative task.
Contrasting with this process, when a standard user logs on, only a standard user access token is created. This standard user access token is then used to start the desktop.
In closing,,, many people expect Vista/7 to run like XP. This is completely wrong thinking, they are not the same OS, and therefore should not be viewed or used in the same way.
