Make User Account Control less annoying

Microsoft’s User Account Control, the box that pops up and asks “Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer?” incessantly, has very good intensions, as it’s intended to let you know when software is making important changes to your operating system. That makes it handy for trying to prevent malware, but the pop-ups are SO! Annoying!

Especially if you stick to the safe area of the Web and do not install software.

If you feel confident enough to disable UAC or to down grade it a little, doing so is very easy. First, open the Control Panel by navigating to Start > Control Panel in any version of Windows that includes a Start button, or by heading to Windows 8’s tiled Start screen, typing Control Panel, and clicking it.

This slider lets you fine-tune UAC notifications.

Next, head to User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Change User Account Control settings. A new window pops up with a slider that allows you to fine-tune just how often the UAC dialog box will appear. Don’t like the way the screen dims when UAC activates? You can ditch that behavior, or you can just turn UAC off completely. (Amusingly, a UAC prompt pops up to confirm that you approve of the UAC changes.)