Question: How do you turn off User Access Control in Windows Server 2008?

User Access Control is the source of frustration for many, and a job savers for others. It is also the source of one of my favorite Mac vs. PC commercials. Windows Server 2008 has UAC built is, as does Vista which is the client for Server 2008. You can turn off UAC in the same fashion in Server 2008 as you can in Vista. I recommend against it though. UAC is a key feature of Windows 2008 security. There are ways to modify its behavior. First, how to turn it off.

To turn off UAC
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click User Accounts.
3. In the User Accounts window, click User Accounts.
4. In the User Accounts tasks window, click Turn User Account Control on or off.
5. If UAC is currently configured in Admin Approval Mode, the User Account Control message appears. Click Continue.
6. Clear the Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer check box, and then click OK.
7. Click Restart Now to apply the change right away, or click Restart Later and close the User Accounts tasks window.

If you access your server with an account that is in the local Administrators group, you can change the default behavior of the UAC prompt from prompt for credentials, to the less annoying prompt for consent. Here is how it works.

• Click Start --> Administrator Tools --> Local Security Policy. (You can also do this through group policy.)
• Expand Local Policies --> Security Options.
• Open the properties for User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for Administrators in Admin Approval Mode.
• Here you can:
o Elevating without prompting (Not recommended, but it leaves UAC turned on for non-administrators).
o Prompt for credentials (You have to provide a username and password.
o Prompt for consent (You just click Continue).

Reference: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc709691.aspx#BKMK_S3

Class: 6421A Configuring and Troubleshooting a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure

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