Windows 7 admin account...doesn't have full admin privileges?

[CDailey]

I've got Windows 7 Home Premium. There is only one account on my computer, and it is the admin account. I am trying to edit and save the hosts file, but when I try to save it, it tells me that I can't save it in the folder it's in because I don't have admin privileges. I tried creating a new account and giving it admin privileges as well, but the same thing happens. Anyone know WTF is going on?

Edit: Ok, after a little more Google-ing, I found that I had to open Notepad in "Run As Administrator" mode. Why the hell should I have to do that if I am the admin already?

 

[nick09]

It's to protect your computer from people outside your network. But you can disable it. You just go into user account from the control panel and click "Turn User Account Control on or off". Just confirm your decision and then restart your computer. It's recommended to not to disable it but you can if it's really a pain.

 

[Jim Prower]

I don't know about 7, but in Vista, I know there's certain XP programs (older games, in particular,) that must run in "run as administrator" mode.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

UAC in 7 is set to require admin credentials when a user is changing a system setting (not a user setting). But when critical OS files are being changed, the app being used must be run as administrator (as in Linux).

Jim The programs you refer to are those which cannot respect the virtualised registry & user profile. To override these protections requires that the user explicitly say "I don't care about your safety, I want my program to run".

 

[CDailey]

UAC in 7 is set to require admin credentials when a user is changing a system setting (not a user setting). But when critical OS files are being changed, the app being used must be run as administrator (as in Linux).

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

[Eric.]

UAC in 7 is set to require admin credentials when a user is changing a system setting (not a user setting). But when critical OS files are being changed, the app being used must be run as administrator (as in Linux).

Jim The programs you refer to are those which cannot respect the virtualised registry & user profile. To override these protections requires that the user explicitly say "I don't care about your safety, I want my program to run".

Now if only there was someway to advertise it as such, and prevent all the "WINDOWS VISTA IS SO NAGGY ASKING ME IF I WANT TO DO THIS OF COURSE I WANT TO DO THIS THATS WHY I CLICKED IT!"

And then they get infested with trojans the day after they learn you can disable UAC.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Now if only there was someway to advertise it as such, and prevent all the "WINDOWS VISTA IS SO NAGGY ASKING ME IF I WANT TO DO THIS OF COURSE I WANT TO DO THIS THATS WHY I CLICKED IT!"

And then they get infested with trojans the day after they learn you can disable UAC.

Quite. I love the way that everyone who has a little IT knowledge thinks that they know more about their computer's safety than the company that designed it, and which has been collecting usage information from 100m systems for the past 6 years.

Anyone who doesn't get how much Microsoft knows about computer security needs to read their quarterly Security Intelligence Report.

 

[niky]

The one where they explain that I, as an end-user, actually have to close all the glaring security holes in the system manually to keep trojans out?

Or the one in which they explain why on Earth they ever thought allowing portable and flash drives to change your registry even before showing you a single dialog box was actually a good idea.

Though, to be fair, Vista and 7 finally... finally give us a system which doesn't hold up a blinking red neon sign saying "hit me, I'm easy."