Windows 7 / Security and Privacy

How Windows Determines Whether an Application Needs Administrative Privileges

Windows examines several aspects of an executable to determine whether it should display a UAC prompt before running the application:

  • Application properties Users can select the Run As Administrator check box for executable files.
  • Application manifest A description of the application provided by the application developer, which can require Windows 7 to run the program as an administrator.
  • Application heuristics Aspects of the application that might indicate it requires administrative privileges, such as being named Setup.exe.

The sections that follow describe each of these aspects and show you how to configure applications so that they always require elevated privileges. This can be important when an application does not work properly without elevated privileges but UAC does not prompt the user automatically for credentials.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Windows 7 Client Protection
  2. Understanding the Risk of Malware
  3. User Account Control in Windows 7
  4. UAC for Standard Users
  5. UAC for Administrators
  6. UAC User Interface
  7. Secure Desktop
  8. How Windows Determines Whether an Application Needs Administrative Privileges
  9. How to Control UAC Using Application Properties
  10. How UAC Examines the Application Manifest
  11. UAC Heuristics
  12. UAC Virtualization
  13. UAC and Startup Programs
  14. Compatibility Problems with UAC
  15. How to Configure UAC
  16. Group Policy Settings
  17. Control Panel
  18. Msconfig.exe
  19. How to Configure Auditing for Privilege Elevation
  20. Other UAC Event Logs
  21. Best Practices for Using UAC
  22. AppLocker
  23. AppLocker Rule Types
  24. Auditing AppLocker Rules
  25. DLL Rules
  26. Custom Error Messages
  27. Using AppLocker with Windows PowerShell
  28. Using Windows 7 Defender
  29. Understanding Windows Defender
  30. Automatic Scanning
  31. Real-Time Protection
  32. Windows Defender Alert Levels
  33. Understanding Microsoft SpyNet
  34. Configuring Windows Defender Group Policy
  35. Configuring Windows Defender on a Single Computer
  36. How to Determine Whether a Computer Is Infected with Spyware
  37. Best Practices for Using Windows Defender
  38. How to Troubleshoot Problems with Unwanted Software
  39. Network Access Protection
  40. Forefront