Features

In earlier versions of Windows, you could set up a 'user account' for each person who used a PC. In Vista, it's pretty much compulsory. This is not only to protect against other users seeing or changing your files or settings, it's also part of how Windows protects your system from malware.

Essentially, you should normally use your PC as a standard user, not an administrator. When you try to make changes, Windows will offer the option of continuing or cancelling, and may ask you to enter the password for an administrator account. Vista's User Account Control (UAC) even does this if you're already logged in as an administrator.

It's possible to disable UAC. Open the User Account Control Panel, select a user (such as yourself) and click Turn User Account Control on or off, then untick the box. But you should leave it turned on, because changes to your system aren't only made by users sitting at the PC; they can also be initiated by software. If a malicious program finds its way in, it could change settings, delete files and even take control of your system. With UAC, you'd be alerted to these actions. A box asking you to confirm an action you didn't initiate is a good clue that something fishy is going on, and with one click you can tell Windows not to allow it.

Any option that needs administrator access will show a Windows shield on its link or button. When a UAC message appears after you click this, take the chance to ask yourself if you're doing anything silly - like running a program from a website you don't trust - then, if not, click Continue. But if a UAC box appears unexpectedly at any other time, click Cancel and start a scan for malware.

	1 User Account Control springs into action whenever you attempt to access system settings that could have a detrimental effect on Windows. The same type of messages should appear if malware attempts to make unwanted system changes in the background.