14 DAY TRIAL // The User Account Control, while being one of the improved security aspects of Windows Vista, is a barrier based on user interaction. And it is in the user where the fault of the Vista UAC lies. At least according to Symantec. The Cupertino-based security company revealed that it labors to build a technology that will take the end user out of the UAC equation.
?I have been running Vista for a while, and UAC bugged the heck out of me--to the point where I tuned it out and, eventually, turned it off,? Rowan Trollope, vice president of consumer products at Symantec, said to CNET. ?If a company could do better, it would be one of us security companies.?
In Windows Vista, Microsoft has introduced User Account Control limiting the users? privileges to a standard user mode level. The immediate downside of UAC is the fact that the technology will notify the user and request administrator authorization for the installation of all applications that require elevated privileges.
?UAC is a great step forward for computer security, in theory. The main problem is that it still leaves the power in the user's hands. As we know, security technologies are only as strong as (their) weakest link, and in this case, that is the user,? Natalie Lambert, an analyst with Forrester Research said to CNET. ?Symantec's plan to enhance UAC is a much-needed complement.?
Symantec plans to build on top of Vista's UAC, but also to take control of the security aspect and to make the whole process independent of user interaction. ?We have had a team looking at ways to enhance the built-in features of Vista, and UAC was one of the very first we identified,? Trollope added. ?We have not announced any specific feature, but we are researching it...We have a couple of researchers building prototypes.?