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Gonzakpo
05-06-2012, 03:00 AM
Hi. It is possible to remove the UAC prompt?

In my personal case I have no problems with it because I'm the administrator of my PC. But sometimes you don't have admin privileges and that would make Mezzmo impossible to run. Is there any workaround to this?

Also, could anyone explain me why the Mezzmo server need admin privileges every time it runs? There are some examples of programs that found workarounds to this problem. For example, Google Chrome can update itself without asking for admin privileges. In that case, it is possible because Google Chrome installs itself in the a user folder so that updating it doesn't need admin privileges.

So, exactly WHY Mezzmo need to be run as an admin?

JohnM
05-06-2012, 03:43 PM
The UAC prompt is because of the settings of your OS. UAC can be disabled, but probably should not be. I have run my system both with and without UAC being enabled. There are some caveats with certain programs that expect it not working properly without it. In the case of Mezzmo it is not really an issue with UAC as much as the program requesting a user name and password at installation. It does that to start the media server as a service under that user name. Once installed it won't need it again EXCEPT for the case where you install it into a different user account. Here is a link to their explanation. http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/502-FAQ-Why-is-Mezzmo-asking-for-my-Windows-user-name-and-password

Paul
05-07-2012, 09:18 AM
I agree with comments from JohnM. UAC is a Windows 'feature' and not coming directly from Mezzmo. You can turn off UAC in Windows, but I would not recommend it.

Gonzakpo
05-07-2012, 07:56 PM
I agree with comments from JohnM. UAC is a Windows 'feature' and not coming directly from Mezzmo. You can turn off UAC in Windows, but I would not recommend it.

Exactly. UAC is a Windows feature and disabling it would be one of the worst advices you could be giving. My question is really simple, why does Mezzmo needs admin privilegies? Exactly what resource is forcing Mezzmo to be a admin-only software?

Hashybot
05-08-2012, 02:33 AM
Ive been running my computers fine without UAC since the W7 RC1 releases, and more of my customers ask me more times than not to remove it after installation. However I will tell you what I tell them, if you are not tech savy and aren't quite upto speed on what to look for in terms of possible nasties (assuming you may surf the suspect dodgy site, and possibly use the odd suspect exe) then it may be helpful to leave it running. On the flip side to this, if you are tech savy, run a good internet security suite and other various protections on your computer, have an eye for what is considered to be false positive materials, as well cant be bothered clicking allow on software you know is safe within Windows 7, then I would say by all means disable it. Horses for courses, think of it this way, the person that uses his computer exclusively for Photoshop editing, doesn't have it connected to the net, but does install/uninstall different pluggins often, would find it debilitating to have to allow each plugin (created by a reputable developer) through UAC everytime he wants to install/uninstall them.

I hope that helps.
Hashy

Gonzakpo
05-08-2012, 07:44 AM
Ive been running my computers fine without UAC since the W7 RC1 releases, and more of my customers ask me more times than not to remove it after installation. However I will tell you what I tell them, if you are not tech savy and aren't quite upto speed on what to look for in terms of possible nasties (assuming you may surf the suspect dodgy site, and possibly use the odd suspect exe) then it may be helpful to leave it running. On the flip side to this, if you are tech savy, run a good internet security suite and other various protections on your computer, have an eye for what is considered to be false positive materials, as well cant be bothered clicking allow on software you know is safe within Windows 7, then I would say by all means disable it. Horses for courses, think of it this way, the person that uses his computer exclusively for Photoshop editing, doesn't have it connected to the net, but does install/uninstall different pluggins often, would find it debilitating to have to allow each plugin (created by a reputable developer) through UAC everytime he wants to install/uninstall them.

I hope that helps.
Hashy

Sorry but disabling UAC is not acceptable. It is the keystone of the Windows Vista and 7 security. If you disable it, ANY virus/trojan/malware that, for whatever reason, gets to execute has admin privileges. Meaning full access to the system. Why do you think *NIX systems are so secure in the first place? Because from it's inception it was focused on having several users with different types of permissions.

Ok, I won't bother again with this because all I'm getting is "just disable UAC" which is by far one of the worst advices I've ever received. I'm very tech savy and I'm still won't disable UAC.

I just opened this wondering why Mezzmo needed admin privileges to run. In theory, it should not need them because it is not changing anything in the system (my guess). Maybe this problem could be solved by just moving everything (stream buffer?) to the users folder in which any program can write without admin privileges.

Sorry If I sounded rude. It was not my intention. But it's the third time I receive the same advice.

Paul
05-08-2012, 08:59 AM
Just to explain in more detail. Mezzmo requires administrator privileges whenever you register your Mezzmo server, or start/stop your Mezzmo server. Depending on your Windows user account privilege levels, this administrator requirement/elevation may fire off UAC on your Windows. The reason for the requirement for administrator privileges is that your Mezzmo media server runs as a Windows service on your computer. The only times you should see UAC will be when you start or stop your Mezzmo server (i.e. starting/stopping the Windows service) or when you change the name or port for your Mezzmo server (i.e. re-register your Mezzmo service). Hope that explains it better.

Hashybot
05-08-2012, 03:47 PM
Sorry but disabling UAC is not acceptable. It is the keystone of the Windows Vista and 7 security. If you disable it, ANY virus/trojan/malware that, for whatever reason, gets to execute has admin privileges. Meaning full access to the system. Why do you think *NIX systems are so secure in the first place? Because from it's inception it was focused on having several users with different types of permissions.

Ok, I won't bother again with this because all I'm getting is "just disable UAC" which is by far one of the worst advices I've ever received. I'm very tech savy and I'm still won't disable UAC.

I just opened this wondering why Mezzmo needed admin privileges to run. In theory, it should not need them because it is not changing anything in the system (my guess). Maybe this problem could be solved by just moving everything (stream buffer?) to the users folder in which any program can write without admin privileges.

Sorry If I sounded rude. It was not my intention. But it's the third time I receive the same advice.

The NIX system reference that you mention in essence covers my view, in that every user has a different level of expertise therefor needs a different level of security. My personal experience is that of many users turn it off and rely on a good internet security suite to stop infections. Certainly in my view, I would not rely just on UAC to protect my computer without an internet security suite backing it up (while using it as adminstrator role or standard), but that's my personal preference and the reason I would not just rely on UAC. UAC will certainly send an alert to ask if you want to run an exe, but it certainly does not stop an infection if you do allow that exe as an administrator as opposed to a good ISS stopping it.
Again this is horses for courses, I have run fine as an Administrator since RC1 with a good ISS, keyscrambler, password and information protection and of course relying on some good ol' knowledge of potential nasties. However if you feel more secure with it turned on this is ok too, I personally along with many others find it a nuisance and is usually the first option to go after a Windows installation. Is it bad advice? In my opinion no ( factoring in my experience and that of my customer base and internet base), in yours eyes yes (factoring your experience's etc) so hence my comment in the last post "Horses for courses".

I didn't find your post rude btw, you were expressing your opinion. :)

Gonzakpo
05-10-2012, 01:45 AM
The NIX system reference that you mention in essence covers my view, in that every user has a different level of expertise therefor needs a different level of security. My personal experience is that of many users turn it off and rely on a good internet security suite to stop infections. Certainly in my view, I would not rely just on UAC to protect my computer without an internet security suite backing it up (while using it as adminstrator role or standard), but that's my personal preference and the reason I would not just rely on UAC. UAC will certainly send an alert to ask if you want to run an exe, but it certainly does not stop an infection if you do allow that exe as an administrator as opposed to a good ISS stopping it.
Again this is horses for courses, I have run fine as an Administrator since RC1 with a good ISS, keyscrambler, password and information protection and of course relying on some good ol' knowledge of potential nasties. However if you feel more secure with it turned on this is ok too, I personally along with many others find it a nuisance and is usually the first option to go after a Windows installation. Is it bad advice? In my opinion no ( factoring in my experience and that of my customer base and internet base), in yours eyes yes (factoring your experience's etc) so hence my comment in the last post "Horses for courses".

I didn't find your post rude btw, you were expressing your opinion. :)

I undestand you. But the thing is, if you are an standard user you can't get admin privileges without the an admins credentials (password). So, you are just considering the case that you are the admin but UAC prompt you for confirmation. Instead, I'm considering the possibility of not being the admin and not being able to change anything in the system (because you don't know the admin password). If you are an admin like me and you don't want somebody to modify the computer, that's a great solution. Same thing happens in Linux. If you are not the admin, you can't install anything. That's why I was considering the possibility of allowing Mezzmo to run without the UAC prompt. Because if a standard user wants to lunch it, he/she will need the admin password to start the service.

I guess there's not possible solution to this. Unless the mezzmo server stops being a service by itself.