Don't like the Secure Desktop in Windows Vista? Here's How to Turn it Off

One of the things beta testers have complained about most in Vista is the intrusiveness of some of the new security features. For example, if you try to install a program or perform other tasks that require elevated privileges, your screen goes dark and the rest of the desktop locks until you complete the dialog box asking you to enter admin credentials or, if you're logged on as an administrator, asking if you want to continue. This is called the secure desktop, but if you don't like it, you can get rid of it without getting rid of those dialog boxes themselves. In the Administrative Tools menu, select Local Security Policy (you'll get the security prompt). In the left pane of the console, expand Local Policies and click Security Options. Scroll down in the right pane to the item labeled "User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation" and double click. This policy is enabled by default; click Disable to turn the behavior off. I can't take credit for this artical it came from a newsletter I received from WXP News. If you liked this tip you to can get more like it by subscribing to the WXP News letter over at wxpnews.com. You don't have to subscribe to the news letter if you don't want to, just bookmark the site. Every new news letter is the front page and the past ones are in the archive.