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What do you have to do to a piece of software so that if a user, Vista/Windows 7, double clicks the .exe file the message: "do you want to allow the following program from an unknown source to make changes to this computer?" is not displayed to the user?

I mean, do you have to get your software vetted by MS, I'm just wondering what the process is?!

And I don't mean disable UAC on the machine itself! :)

Thanks.

flavour404
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  • possible duplicate of [How does a program ask for administrator privileges?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/90702/how-does-a-program-ask-for-administrator-privileges) – Ry- Dec 03 '11 at 22:59
  • Actually no this is a different question, you seem to misunderstand. – flavour404 Dec 04 '11 at 07:35
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    Oh, I missed the "not." Well, it's now been closed by a moderator, so I'll tell you here: absolutely nothing. By default, a program doesn't require administrator privileges. If it needs admin privileges, a manifest is attached that tells the OS it needs additional privileges, and the UAC dialog is displayed. One of the reasons Windows 7 is more secure is that you *can't* disable it. It's only disabled on utilities like `msconfig` that are already restricted to administrators. Even `regedit` still displays a UAC popup. – Ry- Dec 04 '11 at 16:06

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No, this is not a duplicate of the UAC/Administrator rights question per se. Yes, it's UAC. But it has less to do with the USER (who may or may not be a member of "Administrators"), than with where the program was INSTALLED.

This link explains:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-security/uac-message-do-you-want-to-allow-the-following/bea30ad8-9ef8-4897-aab4-841a65f7af71

This occurs when unknown programs (unsigned) try write data to protected system folders or registry settings, and UAC is seeking your permission. This type of activity could be dangerous anytime, so it prompts every time.

One way to fix these issues is to uninstall the program, then install it somewhere other than the Program Files folder or top of the C: drive... somewhere like your user folder would do perfect. Then the program can run in the default security context and still have write access to itself (its own folders), which is the usual culprit.

The easiest way to resolve (outside of not putting stuff in c:\Program files on Vista or higher and/or signing your .exe) is to simply UNCHECK the box "always ask before opening this file.

Another good link:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/askie/archive/2009/06/19/how-to-bypass-the-security-warning-unknown-publisher-with-the-checkbox-always-ask-before-opening-this-file.aspx

paulsm4
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