It's just as relevant today, so we've bumped it as part of our #ThrowbackThursday initiative. When you log in to Windows, your account is assigned a token that contains identifying information including your user groups and privileges such as read, write, and execute permissions.Īmong the information in that token is an integrity level which is used by the operating system determine the trustworthiness of objects like files, registry keys for the purpose of informing users when installations are being launched as well as isolating processes from having unnecessary access to system files.Įditor's Note: This feature was originally published on October 2018.
UAC remains a fundamental component of Windows 10's security to mitigate the impact of malware, although the overall experience has been relaxed and improved in subsequent releases.
The security feature prompts you when software tries making changes to your system and rests at crux of why applications sometimes require "elevated" access. Those of you who made the transition from Windows XP to Vista will probably remember the introduction of " User Access Control" (UAC) or " Mandatory Integrity Control" (MIC). However, we were curious to know more about what happens under the hood of Windows when you tell the operating system to run a program as an administrator, and why this process is necessary in the first place. As a TechSpot reader you've surely opened software as an admin on Windows before - maybe as recently as today - so the function probably isn't foreign to you.
To add the Open Command Window Here (Administrator) option to the right-click menu for folders and the Desktop, use the following. Run as Administrator via the folder and desktop right-click menu If you’re a frequent user of the Command Prompt, you can Pin it to the Start menu or Taskbar. Now, every time when you double-click the shortcut Command Prompt window will open elevated. Enable the checkbox for Run as administrator.Right-click the Command Prompt shortcut you created on the Desktop.To run the shortcut as an administrator by default: Right-click on the shortcut and choose Run as administrator. Or you can create a new desktop shortcut to cmd.exe. You can even pin the Command Prompt shortcut to the taskbar for easy reach. Run as administrator using Shortcut PropertiesĬlick Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. In Windows 10, as Task Manager runs as administrator by default, it doesn’t show you the UAC prompt when you launch a program using it from an administrator account. The Task Manager method offers an advantage. Enable Create this task with administrative privileges.In Task Manager, click the File menu and click Run new task.
Right-click on the taskbar and click Task Manager.Ctrl + Shift + Enter runs the program as administrator. When the search results are shown, right-click the cmd.exe entry and choose Run as administrator.Īlternately, select the cmd.exe in the search results using the UP/DOWN arrow and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter on the keyboard.
RELATED: Start Programs Elevated (as Administrator) from Run Dialog in Windows 10 Using Start Search This launches a Command Prompt window as an administrator. To get Command Prompt back in the menu, see the article Get back “Open command window here” context menu option in Windows 10 Using Ctrl + Shift + Enter in Windows 10 and 11 Note: Recent versions of Windows 10 replace Command Prompt with PowerShell in the Win + X menu.
How to Open Elevated or Admin Command Prompt From the Win-X menu in Windows 11/10 and 8.1