We linked our application with a manifest with requireAdministrator option in c++. This is because the application modifies HKLM registry entries. When we execute the application, Windows displays the following message. Is it possible to make this window do not appear for our application without changing the UAC setting of Windows?
The basic answer is no. UAC is designed to prompt you for just this purpose. If you could bypass the UAC for your good application, the same could be true for the bad applications that are out there. Because you are writing to the registry at HKLM, you have to elevate your access.
You could move the dialog around a bit if you want. For example, you could create an application icon that would immediately prompt the user with the UAC when they started the application but that isn't a great idea since the point of UAC is to run without permissions until they are needed.
Here is a link to more information about the UAC and how to work with it:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163486.aspx
Related
I am trying to take screenshots of the license information of the application before installing it onto my test window os.
When I click on the installer, the publisher window pops up asking me whether I want to launch the installer or not; But when I want to take screenshots or printscreen using keyboard shortcuts it doesn't work.
It seems that the keyboard shortcuts is disabled during this pop up install dialog.
All I want is to take screenshots at the publisher certificate information before installing the application.
Can anyone with experience on windows help?
UAC: If you are referring to the UAC prompt that shows up first to ask for elevation, then it happens on a secure desktop separate from your main one and hence the screen shot appears impossible. This separate desktop is a security measure. In actual fact it is perhaps the core security measure added to Windows in recent years (don't turn it off permanently).
Disable UAC Temporarily: You can disable this security measure temporarily so you can take a screenshot as described here: How to get a UAC screenshot. Here is a sample screen shot of a UAC prompt for an MSI installation: Numeric file name for msi created with Wix
Here is the essential procedure inlined:
Run gpedit.msc
Locate: Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\SecurityOptions:
Change "User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation" to disabled
Undo this change after the screenshot or your system will be very insecure!
I am just wondering why on some (but not all) of my systems running Windows 7 the entry "Run as Administrator" in Windows Explorer context menu doesn't work. For example, I right-click on cmd.exe, select "Run as Administrator", and the process is started as a default user.
That seems only to happen when I turn UAC off (lowest level of the slider). However, on many other systems that also have UAC turned off, this works anyway.
Which settings do I need to make this work again? Honestly, I don't have a clue why it works on some systems, while it doesn't on others. Can you explain?
Thanks
The Run as Administrator option does nothing when UAC is disabled.
if the user is a standard user, the application is launched with standard privileges
if the user is an administrator, the application is launched with administrative privileges
I have a application(which runs on windows7 and requires run as administrative) that need to run automatically when windows starts up, so i added a registry key under "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" as usual, but my application won't startup automatically even the UAC dialog doesn't promtp, after search from google. I know i can use task scheduler to workaround this, but is there anyboday can tell me why the "run" registry way doesn't work? why the UAC dialog doesn't promtp? it is better if you can help to find a article from microsoft to explain this issue, many thanks in advance!
It is for making the machine usable as quick as possible after booting.
Microsoft Whitepaper: Developing Applications that Run at Logon on Windows Vista
When Windows starts, there is no user to show the UAC prompt to, so your process would have to be held up until an administrative user logs in.
The Task Scheduler is the right way to do what you want.
I have developed an application that needs admin rights to execute. Running the application on Windows 7, the user always have to launch the application as "Run as Administrator" otherwise my application prompts the user that "you don't have administrative rights etc...". This is OK and understandable because of UAC in windows 7.
To get rid that the user have to set the application as "Run as Administrator". I updated my application's "app.manifest" and set
<requestedExecutionLevel level="highestAvailable" uiAccess="false" />
Which done the job for me.
But now, a security center symbol shield appears with my application's icon.
Now my question is "Why does this icon appear on my application, and what does it indicate?"
I tried marking another of my applications to "Always Run as Administrator" via windows but the same icon wouldn't appear with that application.
I want to understand the reasons and scenarios.
The shield is there to remind the user that if they double-click the exe to run it, they will get a UAC dialog. These dialogs should never be a surprise and if you get one you weren't expecting, you should really not consent to it.
The shield appears if you have a manifest that requests elevation (requireAdministrator or highestAvailable, but not if your manifest specifies asInvoker), and for certain file names. For more details see my blog entry (written at Vista time, but still applies to Windows 7) and MSDN articles on UAC and UI guidelines.
I'ved developed a c# application that captures screens using bitblt and sends keyboard and mouse events using calls to keybd_event and mouse_event.
According to Microsoft I needed to modify the app.manifest with:
requestedExecutionLevel level="highestAvailable" uiAccess="true"
Sign the application and place it in a trusted location (program files).
I have done all of these to get the application to run under elevated priviledges under Vista but when UAC dialogs appear it does not capture those screens and the keyboard and mouse events do not reach the UAC dialog.
I am guess that UAC runs in a different desktop?? if so, how would i capture that? and how can i detect when the desktop switches to a UAC dialog in c#? or have i just missed a step?
UAC runs on the secure desktop, only trusted processes running on the system account are allowed to run in that context.
This is to prevent exactly what you are trying to achieve - processes spoofing or capturing user input.
You cannot. The UAC desktop is secure because it doesn't allow anyone to access it.
To detect the desktop switch event, I would try to use SENS or WTSRegisterSessionNotification. But it doesn't look very promising.