I'm sure he didn't mean it the way it sounds.

So the name of the idiot in charge of design and implementation of UAC has finally surfaced! However, if the real objective was to annoy users, he did a cracking job.

Kaled.

If I ever meet him, he's due some abuse.

*** The fact is that there are fewer applications causing prompts. ***

Huh? I get the prompt on every install, and on every upgrade/update.

The most annoying bit is when making or moving or renaming folders - you can be asked more than four times for permission.

I'm sure he didn't mean it the way it sounds.

I know :)

What I find funny is that this "feature" seems to have propagated throughout all of Vista.

The problem with this feature is that it makes the user become complacent about clicking "yes" or "continue" on these messages.

Like g1smd mentioned you get these message for every install so you become used to clicking that message over and over for every install. Soon it becomes part of the install procedure. So when you do go to install a bad app or some malware you will just click through the message warning you anyway because that is how you install something, it isn't until bad things happen that you wonder... what did I click yes to?

I am usually very careful when installing, but I did click on "yes" to something that popped up when I was very busy... and yes it was something bad.

That was a couple of months ago: first time in several decades!

They've annoyed me to the point of not buying another machine w/ Vista. I have it running on one new machine, and I exhale an "ahh" when I get back on XP. Can you completely disable this crap idea of getting third-party software makers off their asses at the expense of my precious time? Big middle finger to MS on this one...

No worry Windows 7 will be out in 4 years and Vista will be like ME... invoking madness to those that had it, and invoking silence by those who made it.

It's so simple to turn that "feature" off, why keep it running at all?

UAC is certainly annoying to users (but it is far worse for programmers). However, the idea that it is useless because people just click "yes" is nonsense...

UAC prompts are required when a program is starting that may make critical changes. Typically, this means installers or utilities like RegEdit. You may click "yes" automatically but that is because you come to expect the prompt. If such a prompt appeared after clicking a website link, you would not click "yes" automatically because you would not expect the prompt.

The concept of UAC is actually very good, but the implementation is dreadful. The idea behind Data Execution Prevention is also good, but configuration of this is equally dreadful. It is switched off by default (so that programs work) but it ought to be switched on by default for all programs that access the internet. For other programs, it isn't necessary.

Kaled.