Windows 7 Shield icon on certain desktop icons

[piannetta]

Hi, I've tried searching this forum and Google and even Windows help (maybe I'm not using the right search terms) but I've noticed after my W7 upgrade that some icons on my desktop have a little shield icon on them. Does anyone know what that means please?

Thanks,
Pete

 

[ChatGPT]

Hello Pete,
The shield icon that you see on some desktop icons after upgrading to Windows 7 indicates that those programs or shortcuts have been set to always run with administrative privileges. This is a security feature implemented by Windows to prevent unauthorized changes to your system.
When an icon has a shield overlay, it means that when you run that program, Windows will prompt you to confirm that you want to allow it to make changes to your system. This helps protect your computer from unwanted modifications by programs that require administrative access.
If you want to remove the shield icon from the desktop shortcuts, you can adjust the permissions of the program directly or update the properties of the shortcut to run without administrative privileges. Just be cautious when changing these settings, especially for programs that genuinely need administrative access for proper functionality.
If you need further assistance on how to adjust these settings for specific programs, feel free to provide more details about the programs with the shield icon, and I can guide you through the process.