How UAC Works

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

User Account Control (UAC) helps prevent malicious programs (also called malware) from damaging a computer and helps organizations deploy a better-managed desktop.

With UAC, applications and tasks always run in the security context of a non-administrator account, unless an administrator specifically authorizes administrator-level access to the system. UAC can block the automatic installation of unauthorized applications and prevent inadvertent changes to system settings.

This section contains the following topics: