Beta Protest Prompts Windows 7 UAC Fix

Microsoft has again changed its position on the User Account Control (UAC) interface for Windows 7. However, the company might be due some credit for the decision, given that they're being made in direct response to protests from common beta participants.

More details are beginning to emerge about the proposed UAC, which has been at the center of significant controversy for several weeks. Earlier last week, rumors swirled that Microsoft had decided to ditch the UAC altogether.

Users of Vista know UAC as the prompt that demands confirmation of just about any action in the operating system, from installing an Adobe Acrobat patch to running the .exe file for a video game. To some the UAC was like a big, bulky bodyguard keeping users safe in their online exploits, but many others found the system likeable to a nagging mother-in-law.

However, a more significant issue stemmed from concerns that the UAC was not only annoying, but flawed. Although Microsoft spent most of the week denying the UAC could be exploited to control a system, the company finally admitted there was a problem and a solution would be on the way.

Late Thursday night, Microsoft execs decided they'd adjust the Windows 7 UAC to make it more secure. That means it should still prompt users for confirmations. (Source: Internetnews.com)

Microsoft admitted they might have goofed in suggesting a) the removal of the UAC for Windows 7 and b) its invulnerability. "That's not the dialog we set out to have and we're going to do our best to improve," said Windows engineering bosses Steven Sinofsky and Jon DeVaan.

The solution, according to Sinofsky and DeVaan, will be vigilance. "The UAC control panel will run in a high integrity process, which requires elevation. That was already in the works before this discussion and doing this prevents all the mechanics around SendKeys and the like from working. Second, changing the level of the UAC will also prompt for confirmation." (Source: zdnet.com)

Microsoft (finally) listens up

Critics are giving Microsoft credit for demonstrating that there is some point to the beta process. Sinofsky and DeVaan acknowledged that the revival and promised reconstruction of the UAC system was "due directly to the feedback we're seeing." In other words, they're finally listening to the people who shell out hundreds of dollars for our products.

It's about time.