UAC and Startup Programs

By default, UAC blocks startup applications located in the Startup folder or identified in the Run registry key that require elevated privileges for both standard and administrative users. It would simply be too annoying to have multiple UAC prompts when logging on, and forcing users to confirm the prompts would require them to blindly elevate processes they did not explicitly start-a bad security practice. As an administrator, you should ensure that no startup programs require elevated privileges.

Startup applications started from the RunOnce registry key or specified in a Group Policy setting are unaffected by this feature; UAC will still prompt the user for administrator credentials. This allows applications that must make changes after restarting the computer to complete installation successfully.