A small price to pay

No, wait. There is another one that has it disabled and that can access it just fine

It's for the best, TBH. Windows XP is a horribly insecure OS at this point, and no amount of 3rd-party security software can fix that.

I realize that this can be annoying, but literally every modern OS with decent security is going to have similar functionality. It's just a reality of computing these days that executables and the binaries they load directly need to be protected from being accessed by arbitrary processes. Most OSes do this by designating specific areas of the file system for "trusted" programs to reside in, and then protecting access to writing/modifying those areas. This prevents malware from attaching malicious code to trusted executables and binaries, allowing said malicious code to run with impunity and without your knowledge. In Windows, UAC is your last line of defense against trusted executables and binaries being infected.

For this reason, Microsoft strongly recommends that software developers architect their software in such a way that executables and binaries are placed in protected "Program Files" folders, and "user data" like saved games, documents, settings, etc. are placed in profile folders or "AppData" folders. This way you should very rarely need to see UAC prompts unless you're installing software or intentionally modifying system files, the system registry, etc. I know that some mods would still need to execute binaries and scripts to run, so without Bethesda using some kind of a sandboxed runtime environment for mods this wouldn't provide better security. What it comes down to, though, is that this is the result of Bethesda not following Microsoft's security model in their implementation of their mod tools. It's not the fault of UAC. UAC prompts would rarely be seen if developers followed proper security protocols.

You might have noticed that when UAC was introduced with Vista, people were seeing a LOT more UAC prompts (resulting in many people disabling it), and that there aren't as many today. This is largely the result of more developers coming around to following security protocols. There are still some hold-outs, however. It's a bit of a no-win situation for Microsoft...Windows gets a lot of flak for not being secure, and then when Microsoft attempts to improve that aspect (by following essentially the same model as OSes that are lauded for their good security...like Linux and OS X), they get limited support from developers and push-back from users.

Auto updates pushing in Windows 10 is a problem for people that want a stable graphics driver.


It likes to push alpha drivers and crap that cause problems, and the FFXIV forums a while back were kvetching they couldn't roll back to a driver that worked because Windows would force update it again.


Driver updates being force pushed is stupid.

For me, the option to update to Windows 10 is still under "Optional" but is always automatically ticked, while security updates are in "Recommended" but are always not automatically ticked. So whenever I see my Windows 8.1 pestering me of an important update, I will just tick all security updates and untick the Windows 10 update.

Just right click on that update and hide it.

I'd have no issue if MS was only forcing automatic updates for security updates. However, they're going far, far beyond that, and with the way they've been using Windows Update on Win7/8 to push Win10 they've clearly shown their disregard for the wishes of the user. On top of that, there have been plenty of windows updates that have broken things when they first came out, so I'd very much prefer to be in control of whether or not to install updates, so that if any are problematic I can reject them.

I also find it rather amusing when people mention boot time as a selling point for Win10. My computer gets rebooted maybe once every 3-4 months, so I'm not sure what people are doing that require frequent enough reboots for it to actually be a consideration. Then again, with MS rolling out forced updates on Win10 that often require reboots as part of the process maybe it actually is a reasonable consideration for those who got stuck with Win10.

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, Windows 7 is on extended support (still receiving security updates) until 2020, so there's plenty of time to evaluate options before there's any reason to switch to something else.

I actually liked windows 10... mostly.... but I ends up going back to Windows 7 because windows 10 doesn't seem to play nicely with Skyrim.

Will be sticking with Windows 7 until the day it dies.

Outside the IT community and "enthusiast" types? Far as I've seen, people shut down their computers every night. Heck, I have a hard enough time convincing my father that he should let the thing sleep during the day, instead of shutting it down every time he's "done" using it . I've heard him tell my mother "Your computer is on" when he sees the sleep light.

Well, the computer is "on", as opposed to "off". I shut mine off every night too; what's the bother?

Yeah, same here. No sense having it on for hours on end without anyone using it imo.

I really don′t understand the boot time selling point either. I plug it in, turn it on, and after awhile it′s ready to go. I don′t need that process to go any faster

I don't let mine sleep. Doesn't like to wake up properly.


That said, I reboot for updates of software that want it(a/v, Windows, whatever) and I shut down completely under 2 circumstances that don't involve moving it or taking it apart: bad storms threatening power outages(stupid common in winter here) and extended absence from home(a month in Sweden).


That's it.


Habitual rebooters and nightly shutdowns are unnecessary.

Boot time is important for people who use computers at work. At home? You turn it on, your go to the loo and when you get back, here you go! ;P

So, you leave your computer on, connected to the internet, so that hackers can use it when you're away or sleeping? Good job!

That's only a worry if you visit to many "unsavory" places and pick up a virus. A hacker isn't going to be able to just randomly target your computer without something connecting you to them(ie: a root kit or keylogger or something). I haven't had a virus or anything of the sort in over a decade and a half(the last time I had one I was a teenager who was constantly visiting porm sites or illegal download sites, ala warez). Not to mention you can take steps to keep yourself protected such as an anti-virus, firewall, and stuff like noscript/adblocker.

I personally am the same as Sakiri, I turn my computer off during bad storms, and that's pretty much it, it's on 24/7.

As Starwulf mentioned, unless you're already infected with malware, have ports forwarded on your router to expose vulnerable services to the internet, or don't have any sort of firewall (or have a really lousy/old firewall), there's not much of any way a hacker can get at your computer. Even the simplest of firewalls hide your computers behind a subnet, so they're not even really "visible" to other computers on the internet. They'd have to somehow hack your router/firewall, which is unlikely unless it's a complete piece of junk designed by dim narwhal (or if your OS doesn't have an active software firewall and your PC is plugged directly into a modem...a really bad idea).

I have a server that's always on. The machines in my house that aren't always on tend to sleep instead of powering off so they can wake themselves up to run backups and such. Fast boot times are a plus, but IMO not a "killer" feature.

I turned off auto updates because of this. Also, MS is installing spyware on win7-8. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2978239/windows/microsoft-slips-user-tracking-tools-into-windows-7-8-amidst-windows-10-privacy-storm.html

Yeah like Starwulf and you said it's the most logical thing to keep your PC protected if you have anti-virus software and firewalls on.

In 2006 I had a virus because of a news website I went to contained it in the sound file I downloaded to listen to. In 2009 I had a port forward, but anyways I turn my home PC off all the time when I go to bed or leave the house.

So I hope now I come to hit a decade without getting any maleware or viruses.

My work PC's for the last 10+ years though have never gotten maleware or viruses at all. Because I use them only for work I don't surf the internet reading a bunch of different websites or download files that I don't need for work.

In the next few months though I might be doing a port forward.

'Safe' website can be infected with malware hidden in the ads and other normal areas of the web page.

Yeah I know. It happened to me in 2006 about the website I used to go to read news about.

Thanks for the link; none of these updates are installed in my computer.

Turning off auto updates is okay, as long as you remember to install the security updates by yourself.

Thankfully that can still be easily avoided with the add-ons/extensions that most browsers communities offer nowadays, such as noscript and pop-up blocker. Those two combined with a decent antivirus+firewall pretty much make any computer immune to picking up bad stuf as long as you aren't constantly visiting shady porm sites or whatever replaced warez nowadays(I think Arrrrr Ye Matey! maybe?).

It is, quite truthfully, very difficult to acquire a virus nowadays unless you are an internet idiot(not saying you or anyone on here is btw), which thankfully there really aren't as many of those around nowadays. Keep your protections up to date, keep your computer OS up to date, use anti-virus and some common sense and you're pretty much good to go.

I would like to upgrade to Windows 10 but the User interface makes me sick. Literally makes me want to vomit. I am not being facetious or hyperbolic (If I am using that word correctly). The User interface makes me physically ill and makes me want to smash things.

Okay I think that I got an anology that will work. Cars. The whole battery cars things. So would you get an Electric car if they made them only with Dialed Controls? How about with Stick Controls like that old BattleZone Game? How about it if they made it with Yoke Controls like a plane (Push forward to go Forward)?

My point is, no change to the Engine or Power system required a change to the Controls. There was ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to change the User Interface....but they did. So ...no I won't be upgrading. I just will not. Hopefully someone will come up with a solution.

A very good point indeed. Change what needs changing but leave the rest alone.

A correction I forgot to make. That virus that I got from a news website back in 2006 was because I forgot my anti-virus and firewall off that day.

You don't necessarily need to keep the computers Operating System (OS) up to date, well mostly if you play video games. My Windows XP PC I don't even go to any websites on it at all and keep any anti-virus software or firewall running that still supports Windows XP and I only purchase PC versions of video games on my Windows XP PC only, nothing else and I have not gotten a virus since 2009.

I've been using PC's since the 1980's for work and only since 1998 for playing video games and only twice in my life I've gotten malware or a virus. Due to my own mistakes.

Many sites prevent you from disabling all scripts (they've adapted; resistance is futile ). For example if you use no script, then videos would play or will start download but stop and endlessly buffer, when you disable ad scripts). Yes, of course getting a virus/malware should seldom be a problem if you have the right software, but its still a threat, especially if you don't patch the operating system.

You don't want any 'holes in your armor'. Having an unpatched/EoL operating system is a big hole.