Researcher Reveals 2-Step Vista UAC Hack
A Web application developer has uncovered a two-step process (PDF) for exploiting Windows Vista's User Account Control, essentially by having a Trojan piggyback on what could be a legitimate download.
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17.5.2007 Replace Windows Vista UAC with Smart UAC Replacement
In past we had review Norton UAC tool an alternative for default Windows Vista user access control. Now here is yet another similar Vista UAC replacement tool Smart UAC Replacement which is easier, more comfortable and definitely less irritating than the standard Windows UAC.
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27.9.2009 34 Vista Ultimate MUI Language packs for Ultimate SP2 via HTTP from MS
Here are the complete links direct from the Microsoft Windows Update server
for 34 MUI language packs for Vista Ultimate with or without SP1 or SP2
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3.7.2009 Getting Rid of UAC in Vista..
gurk2005 prepare this for you on his blog. If youve used Windows Vista for more than 3.7 minutes, you know what UAC (User Account Control) is..
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5.8.2007 Symantec: Vista UAC Is Still Too Chatty
In positioning itself to provide aftermarket applications for Microsoft's Vista operating system, anti-virus market leader Symantec is highlighting some shortcomings it believes to exist in the new platform's own security tools.
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15.1.2007 Vistas UAC needs an overhaul. Ideas?
It seems like everyone, other than possibly Microsoft's Vista team itself, seems to believe that the User Account Control (UAC) in Vista already needs an overhaul. The question is, who is going to do it? And what form will it take?
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22.2.2007 Vista UAC: 7 Steps to delete a shortcut
Here is a interesting submission, although I'd like to point out that Microsoft is changing this behavior in future builds. Here's what would of happened if it weren't for dedicated beta testers and our loud vocal concerns being heard.
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5.6.2006 Russinovich: Malware will thrive, even with Vistas UAC
Despite all the anti-malware roadblocks built into Windows Vista, a senior Microsoft official is lowering the security expectations, warning that viruses, password-stealing Trojans and rootkits will continue to thrive as malware authors adapt to the new operating system.
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24.4.2007 Fixing Windows Vista: Taming UAC
The User Account Control feature in Windows Vista has been known to drive normally level-headed people over the edge with frustration. If you find it annoying, you might be tempted to turn it off.
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1.5.2008 Microsoft Decries Vista PatchGuard Hack
Microsoft officials say they are unhappy that security software maker Authentium has decided to bypass the controversial PatchGuard kernel protection feature in its next-generation Vista operating system, and said that the tactic could lead to eventual problems for users of the company's software.
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27.10.2006 More information on the Vista SP1 activation hack
My post on the Vista SP1 activation hack has generated a lot of feedback (especially in the form of questions) from both individuals and other media outlets.
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12.2.2008 Microsoft could be teaching police to hack Windows Vista
Microsoft may begin training the police in ways to break the encryption built into its forthcoming client PC operating system Vista.
The news was revealed in a parliamentary committee session, where Professor Ross Anderson of Cambridge University warned MPs that if such a move was being considered then the police should start learning sooner rather than later.
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19.2.2006 Hack claims Vista to ship on December 5th
Veteran Zdnet hack and exiled Evertonian Colin Barker reports that Microsoft has lined up a surprise 5 December "general release date" for the consumer version of Windows Vista.
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14.10.2006 Microsoft Exec Rages Against Vista Upgrade Hack
Sarcasm can be a powerful tool, and a Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) executive recently wielded it against industry sources who claim that a loophole exists in one of the software giant's licensing policies.
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15.4.2008 New Vista OEM Activation Hack - Vista Boot by gkend
Thanks to Steve Jobs for this article on his blog and to our forum members to clecha, Nighthief and fitterphil120 for most of the findings. One again the Chinese come up with a new method to trick out the Vista Activation. We have seen Softmode and VistaLoader, however Vista Boot by gkend does promise even more.
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21.5.2007 Hack Available to Download the Official Vista SP1 Straight from Microsoft
That's right! There is a hack available that will permit you to access, download and install the official release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 straight from Microsoft.
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17.10.2007 One More Reason to Upgrade to Vista: 6-Minute XP Hack Is Frightening!
Six minutes... that is all it took to hack Windows XP, and to completely take over the operating system. Nick McGrath, Director of Platform Strategy at Microsoft U.K., witnessing the XP hack first hand, described the effortless attack and compromising of the platform as "enlightening and frightening.
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13.11.2007 Anti-Hack Update For Windows Vista Rev from Microsoft
The release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 not only heralded a long-awaited update of the operating system, it also meant the end of two common Windows Vista anti-activation exploits - the Grace Timer exploit and the Paradox OEM BIOS activation crack.
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12.5.2008 Turn Off or Disable User Account Control (UAC) in Windows Vista
User Account Control (UAC) is a new security feature in Windows Vista that requires all users to log on and run in standard user privileges mode instead of as administrator with full administrative rights, thus prevent unauthorized or accidental changes that could destabilize the computers or allows virus and malware to exploit the system-level privileges provided to the local administrator to attack the network security, compromise computer safety and privacy, and damage files and settings in the network.
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19.12.2006 Microsoft Serves the Official Version of the Hack Used to Access Windows Vista SP1
Do you remember a time when Windows Vista SP1 was not available as a public download? In the pre-Release Candidate Stages of Vista SP1, Microsoft restricted the access to the service pack only to selected testers.
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12.12.2007 Vista SP1 Beta Build 6001.17036 v.652 Kills Hack to Download the Service Pack
Microsoft is making headway toward the final release of the first service pack for Windows Vista. A new beta build of the first refresh for the operating system is now live following the initial beta release.
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12.11.2007 How [Vista] Ultimate Is This?
Windows Vista Ultimate is Microsoft's operating system with all the whiz and bang for all users. But there is something important missing after all: Extended lifecycle support.
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27.2.2007 Vista Ultimate Extras
One of the major unanswered questions about Windows Vista is what exactly Vista's Ultimate Extras will be.
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7.11.2006 Windows Vista Ultimate explained
Windows Vista comes in several different incarnations. But essentially there are two pathways -- the home user and the business user. However, at the very top of the pile is the Windows Vista SCU that gives you everything that is in both the top of the lines business editions and home editions -- Windows Vista Ultimate.
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10.1.2007 The Ultimate Windows Vista laptop
The most visible part of Windows Vista is the Aero interface, and while we can't deny that it looks very swish we find it very hard to get excited by a shiny new GUI. Instead, we're looking forward to new Vista hardware, which includes a new use for the humble USB memory key and much, much more. So what will the ultimate Windows Vista notebook offer?
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25.1.2007 So where is Vista Ultimate Extra "DreamScene" ?
Windows Vista Ultimate users began to receive the first set of "Ultimate Extras". But arguably the most anticipated Ultimate Extra was not there -- Windows DreamScene.
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2.2.2007 Windows Vista Ultimate download
This is the final version of Vindows Vista.
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8.2.2007 Windows Vista ultimate serial
A lot of people are searching for some solutions, ni last days is one of most searched phrases
"windows vista ultimate serial".
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12.2.2007 3D Ultimate Vista for DreamScapes
3D Ultimate Vista For DreamScapes, RS. Vista Ultimate wallpapers with original transition effect...
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23.3.2007 Windows Vista Ultimate and WSUS
Just a quick one this time ("We've heard that one before" I hear you cry!) about Windows Vista Ultimate and WSUS. What is WSUS I hear you ask?
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18.4.2007Changes to UAC in Vista SP1: Much less than meets the eye
A video is making the rounds showing how Vista SP1 has significantly improved Vista's immensely annoying User Account Control (UAC). But there
appears to be less to the improvement than meets the eye --- hardly any changes were made to UAC in SP1, and it remains a very big Vista annoyance.
Microsoft blogger Michael Kleef
has
made a video that he says illustrates how much better UAC is under SP1 than before SP1. It very nicely shows that when you create a new folder in
Program Files, you only need to go through one UAC prompt under Vista SP1, rather than four previously.
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17.05.2008Windows 7 vs Windows Vista: The UAC Benchmark
One of the most hated features of Windows Vista is the
User Account
Control, or UAC in short. Many people found it annoying and chose to
disable it right away, even if this meant exposing their system to
additional security threats. In Windows 7, Microsoft has seriously changed this feature. Now users have a lot more control over it and how it works
and it should provide a better user experience. To see how much improvement this means in numbers, I have run a comparison between the default Windows
Vista and Windows 7 UAC levels. Let's see which one wins and why.
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05.08.2009Microsoft: Update on Windows 7 UAC issues
Before getting into the actual news, lets take a while to understand the current Windows 7 UAC dilemma Windows 7 UAC Dilemma As Windows 7 was
receiving much positive feedback than expected from the beta testers, we had Long Zheng and Rafael, two Windows enthusiasts, come with a proof that
malware can turn off UAC in Windows 7. Later Microsoft responded insisting that this is by design and actually not a bug. Later, again, we had Zheng
and Rafael come out with a second flaw which showed Windows 7 UAC was still flawed. At this time, everybody thought Microsoft had done the right thing
with Windows Vista UAC and compromised security over consumers' feedback in Windows 7.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
05.02.2009Who should fix Microsoft's UAC?
One of the most discussed
features of Windows Vista is
the User Account Control (UAC)
feature. The UAC pops up
whenever something is
attempting to make use of
something that is in the
domain of the
administrator.
Many
users have complained that the
UAC is the "dialog that cries
wolf" in that it comes up so
often that users end up either
ignoring it or turning it off
-- both of which nullify the
purpose of the UAC.
ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley
argues that UAC needs an
overhaul and talks about some
of the discussions that are on
the way.
Will
Microsoft extend UAC to be
more flexible and usable by
users? Should it be left to a
Symantec to solve or should
Stardock (whom I work for)
extend it to support more
options?
What's
your view on the Windows Vista
UAC?
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22.02.2007Vistas UAC Catches Rootkits Before Installing
Looks like Vistas much-maligned User Access Control or UAC has one benefit for a savvy user: it can detect rootkits before they install. AV-Test.org
conducted a test of popular antivirus programs to see how well they detected rootkits and the tester had to turn off UAC on the Vista test systems
because it detected every rootkit used in the test.
Once on a PC, rootkits can bury themselves quietly, but they have to get to that
point first. As long as users interpret prompts from the UAC system attentively, or those messages haven't in some way been spoofed, rootkits
struggle to jump to the PC without drawing attention to themselves.
HardOCP..
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26.05.2008Windows 7: User Account Control (UAC) overview
In part one of our overview of Windows 7, we looked into Federated Search. In part two, we look into the much criticized feature of Windows Vista -
The User Account Control One of the highly criticized features in Windows Vista is the User Account Control(UAC) which prompts up a dialog box
seeking users' permission to continue or stop whenever a system-level change is made. The problem with Vista is that even the default user account
which is created during the install, who is a protected administrator (unlike in XP where the user is an Administrator), could not bypass the UAC
until its tweaked.
Read full story.....
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07.01.2009Microsoft set to release Vista Ultimate Extra games - free
Remember Vista Ultimate Extras? Well they are back according to Paul Thurrott, but this time they will be released for free in the form of two games,
Microsoft Tinker and Hold 'Em. Microsoft's failed Vista Ultimate Extras were a big promise from the company of "cutting-edge programs,
innovative services and unique publications." At least they were in Vista RTM, by the time Vista SP1 was rolled out nearly all references to Vista
Ultimate Extras were removed (shown below). Blogger Long Zheng called them the "ultimate con" at the time and in hindsight he was right. Microsoft
made several promises of more extras which resulted in the company launching UltimatePC.com which now redirects to the Vista home-page.
Read full story.....
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11.11.2009How to fix three "broken" features of Vista
Jonathan Schlaffer: Certain problems with Vista wont be fixed by service packs or by updates but rather were actually part of the design. Users got
used to XP and the way XP did things but Vista does some things differently. To help get your sanity back here are three things you can do to make
Vista more amiable.
First, lets tackle UAC. Vistas UAC enables account controls which requires you to specify program actions
when they need elevated permissions. The problem is that almost every action in Vista will require such. This can be turned off while still leaving
the more important virtualization protection in place.
There are two ways to do this, by using native commands in Vista which is
a 6-step process and should be avoided by everyone unless you want to create Local Security Policy specifically for that. I cant recommend doing
so. Instead, download
Tweak UAC which will allow you to painlessly enable quiet mode.
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26.02.2008Microsoft listens, changes UAC behavior in Windows 7
Long Zheng and Rafael had come up with proof earlier that malware can turn off UAC in Windows 7. Later Microsoft responded insisting that this is by
design and actually not a bug. Microsoft has finally agreed to do changes to the Windows 7 UAC and deliver the changes to the Windows 7 Release
Candidate. Jon DeVann and Steven Sinofsky have blogged about the two changes Microsoft is planning to bring to Windows 7 RC: UAC control panel will
run in a high integrity process Changing the level of the UAC will also prompt for confirmation There you go! Simple changes, but brings out big
differences to the way UAC behaves in Windows 7!
Read full story.....
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06.02.2009Screencast: UAC Improvements in Vista SP1
Michael Kleef: Today
I posted a short and sharp
screencast just showing the differences in Vista RTM to Vista SP1 in UAC prompting. We have worked hard in making sure that the original intent of
system integrity is preserved though sometimes excessive prompting was occurring for a single task. My screencast shows this difference and how we
have worked to improve. This screencast links
back to my previous
post on UAC and Windows Vista being somehow less secure than Windows 2000.
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15.05.2008Symantec shows Microsoft how to do UAC
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Security company Symantec has released a tool that helps to make Vista’s UAC (User Account Control) feature clearer and
less of a pain to use.
Norton UAC Tool (which, I
will warn you right from the start is currently in beta) is a replacement to the UAC prompts that you normally see. It has two usability-related
features to offer...
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11.10.2008Microsoft Launches New Windows Vista Ultimate Extras
Despite no announcement being made on UltimatePC.com, Microsoft have released a new sound scheme and a content pack for Windows DreamScene as part of
its Windows Vista Ultimate Extras offerings for customers who purchased the Ultimate edition of Vista.
After installing the sound pack
customers get Ultimate Extras Pearl and Glass sound schemes and additional Windows DreamScene Content.
For those who have been waiting for
Ultimate Extras perhaps this is a sign that more is to come from the software giant.
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23.04.2008PDC 2008: Sinofsky acknowledges Vista UAC is a problem, Windows 7 adds options
Giving a nod to developers who've apparently given a lot of feedback, as well as "certain commercials," Microsoft's platform chief Steven
Sinofsky acknowledged that perhaps User Account Control in Windows Vista may have been...a little annoying. In turn, Windows 7 has additional UAC
settings...
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28.10.2008No Ultimate Extras for Windows 7
Windows Vista Ultimate had an interesting feature touted by Microsoft before it's release, named Extras. This was intended to be an added extra
for the paying the hefty price of Ultimate, to give some bonuses to those who paid for it. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't plan it very well, and
included very few with in the release of Vista Ultimate. This led Microsoft to publicy apologizing over the matter, and to this day not a great number
have been released. This led people to wonder about Windows 7 Ultimate. Would it feature Extras, or would Microsoft not worry about them this time
around?
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
07.02.2009Disabling UAC Slows Vista's Bootup Time?
Blogger Chris123NT is reporting that the LUAFV driver, which controls UAC in Vista, can cause latency issues if the controversial feature is disabled.
Apparently, once UAC is disabled, a registry tweak that disables the driver in question also needs to be applied if the user wants to have solid boot
times back (improved boot times obviously vary from machine to machine). The problem occurs in both Vista RTM and the current beta build of Vista SP1
(6001.17042). This seems to me like yet another reason why it’s not a good idea to disable UAC, but I'm sure UAC haters will have a very
different perspective. It will be interesting to see how fast Microsoft will patch this problem, considering how important security is nowadays.
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15.12.2007Windows 7 UAC has a second flaw
Long Zheng of I Started Something has uncovered a flaw in Windows 7's UAC that means malware can elevate itself to administrator privileges. This
news comes after a previously discovered flaw in Windows 7's new tiered UAC system that meant malware can disable UAC silently. Zheng has stated
"a second UAC security flaw in the Windows 7 beta's default security configuration allows a malicious application to autonomously elevate
themselves to full administrative privileges without UAC prompts or turning UAC off", which is bad news for Microsoft. It is also bad news for all
the people currently running the Windows 7 beta, leaving them with a security risk.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
04.02.2009How Windows 7 UAC shapes enterprise security
There is a lot of buzz about the security features in the upcoming release of Microsofts Windows 7 operating system, especially User Account Control
(UAC).
Microsoft designed UAC to control the elevated administrator privilege that is so dangerous from an IT security
perspective. UAC debuted in Windows Vista to help reduce privilege levels of all users, non-IT and IT employees alike, when tasks were being performed
that did not require elevation. Despite these good intentions, however, Vistas UAC received a tremendous amount of negative feedback due to the number
of pop-up windows that occur during routine use of the desktop. Windows 7 features a new approach to UAC, providing a slider to control how often
UAC pop-ups occur and for which actions they are monitoring. The questions these changes raise include...
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27.03.2009Has Windows Vista's UAC feature failed Microsoft?
Experts agree that Microsoft's Windows Vista is relatively well-protected, but its security features -- such as User Account Control (UAC) -- have
been highlighted by security experts as one reason why the operating system is far less popular than its predecessor, Windows XP.
According to Scott Charney, vice president of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group, UAC was designed to give users more control over the
applications they run and help them make better security decisions by providing them with more information.
However, the main
problem with Vista's UAC, according to Charney, is that it prompts the user far too often...
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20.05.2008RIP Ultimate Extras
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Back in
September of last year I wrote a piece about
how the Windows Ultimate Extras window from the RTM version of Windows Vista differed from the pre-release SP1 code that was floating about at the
time. Is Microsoft going to do right by Windows Vista Ultimate customers and start handing over the goodies or not? Looking at SP1, it seems that
Windows Ultimate Extras as good as dead.
OK, time for a little trip down memory lane. Heres what the Windows Vista Ultimate
screen looks like for Windows Vista Ultimate RTM...
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08.02.2008Microsoft insists UAC vulnerability is not a flaw
Yesterday we reported on a major UAC security flaw where malicious hackers could potentially execute a script on a users machine by tricking into them
into opening a disguised exe. This script would disable UAC without user interaction and without the users knowledge. A Microsoft spokesperson has
provided Neowin with a response to the issue:This is not a vulnerability. The intent of the default configuration of UAC is that users don't get
prompted when making changes to Windows settings. This includes changing the UAC prompting level.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
31.01.2009
