Windows 7 Security Tips #2

Windows 7 inherited from its predecessor, Windows Vista, a built-in feature that increases security by preventing unauthorized access and mitigating the risks of potential security breaches into the system.

User Account Control lets standard users perform several tasks that previously required administrator access, such as changing the time zone or connecting to a secure wireless network, while administrators can run most programs and tasks with standard user privileges.

When tasks that include administrator privileges occur, such as installing software, adding changes in registry system or changing some of the computer settings, the operating system temporarily suspends its activity and prompts the users to decide whether he or she accepts or decline that specific task, while also asking for his or her administrator credentials.

The default user account created during the installation in Windows 7 is a protected administrator that would be prompted only when programs try to make changes to the system's configuration; when the user modifies the operating system settings, UAC does not raise any flag.

Apparently this setting seems very comfortable, especially in terms of usability, because the OS is not incessantly bugging the user with pop-up windows demanding several clicks in order to allow the execution of a program.

Still, as already shown by security analysts, this default value could easily transform into an unwanted security flaw that could allow malware to self-elevate to full administrative privileges and malicious code to run with no trouble at all.

To protect your system and data and prevent arbitrary code executions, change the default value of the User Account Control as depicted in the following video tutorial.