I am here at the PDC in Los Angeles this week and have heard quite a bit of grumblings about UAC. The MS employees on stage and elsewhere are basically saying that UAC is a necessary evil so that clients do not become vulnerable due to unauthorized software install (and other admin level actions). The developer side of this argument is that UAC is a blunt instrument like a security guard in your house that keeps asking you for your passport. You can’t argue that this guard will make your house safer, but he is also going to drive you crazy until you decide to fire him altogether. That is what we are seeing in the field with so many people simply shutting off UAC.

Now that Windows 7 is in sight it might be too late for my suggestion of how we might get the best of both worlds relative to secure software install. My idea is that when you go to install software you should be presented with a Capcha style challenge which ensure a real person is at the helm. Once that Capcha dialog is completed successfully the OS should track that this install is authorized and therefore exempt from future challenges since we know this is not malware (or at least not secretly installed malware).

Since this idea just came up this morning I am guessing I am missing some aspects to this approach that are problematic, but on first look I think this approach could help make things more secure while not destroying user productivity.

If you agree then bring this suggestion up to the people you know at MS. That is what I am going to try to do later today.