When Windows Vista was released worldwide January 30, 2007, it still contained a host of annoyances encountered by users and testers of pre-release versions of Vista. For this reason and others, the user community was slow to accept Windows Vista as a replacement for its predecessor, Windows XP.

Microsoft's premier product Windows XP, which had been released five years earlier, was critizied for its numerous security flaws. Even the United States Government stipulated in solicitations, that for future operating system software, suppliers' software development life cycle (SDLC) testing must pass stringent security requirements.

User Account Control (UAC) in Microsoft Windows Vista was designed to help prevent unauthorized changes to users' computers. Unauthorized changes could be brought about by malicious programs, spy-ware, and other exploits.

Protection against these threats is an improvement, however, very annoying as the "User Account Control" pop-up advised users, "Windows needs your permission to continue...If you started this action, continue." That is, continue, continue, and continue; By the time you got where you wanted to go, you forgot what you wanted to do.

Worse yet, Vista User Account Control did not remember users' choices, so users had to go through the same mind-numbing process time and time again—even with frequently used applications. Security or annoyance, do consumers have to chose one over the other? Please read on....

As with most software released by the mega developers, soon follows add-ons, fixes, and other enhancements made available from other software manufacturers. Two such products are discussed below.

FREE—Smart UAC Replacement 1.0 from Security Stronghold

"Are you ready to Replace UAC?" exclaims Security Stronghold on the web page offering their Smart UAC Replacement. This is just one of many products designed to give users more control over Vista User Account Control.

Click on the "Smart UAC Replacement 1.0" image to enlarge the images provided by Security Stronghold. The upper image shows the prompt users would get when Security Stronghold's Smart UAC detects unauthorized access to the operatinfg system. The lower image means that Smart UAC has detected a known threat.

Smart UAC Replacement 1.0 is FREE. Upon installation, Smart UAC disables Vista UAC, installs Smart UAC, scans each program for viruses, and then works as a firewall for the file system and the registry. Smart UAC might be ad supported, and definately will attempt to entice users into purchasing other products from Security Stronghold. Be safe, and do you homework before installing any third-party software on your computer.

FREE—Norton User Account Control Tool from Norton Labs

Norton Labs, owned by Symantec Corporation, offers their Norton User Account Control Tool as a FREE download.

The Norton User Account Control Tool maintains Vista security while remembering users' previous responses to alerts. Similar to other products for use with Vista User Account Control, when installed, Norton User Account Control Tool disables Vista UAC, installs the tool, scans each program for problems, and protects the file system and the registry against malicious attacks.

Click START > CONTROL PANEL

Click "User Accounts."

Click "Turn User Account Control on or off."

Check the check box to enable UAC, or uncheck to disable UAC.

Click OK.

Click the "Restart Now" button for the changes to take effect.

To configure Windows 7 User Account Control (UAC), go to START > CONTROL PANEL > Change User Account Control Settings.

To some, the new Windows 7 User Account Control will look a lot like the security controls in Internet explorer with slider controls and other familiar objects.