Is Windows 7's new UAC just lipstick on a pig?

Windows 7 makes some very nice changes to Vista's most-reviled feature, User Account Control (UAC). But one security firm's CEO says that the changes are merely cosmetic -- "lipstick on UAC" -- and charges Windows 7 UAC will be both annoying and unsafe.

According to Computerworld, BeyondTrust CEO John Moyer

called the UAC modifications "lipstick" and said "they still do not solve the major issue for enterprises."

Moyer goes on to say:

Windows 7 promises cosmetic changes to reduce UAC prompts, but it does nothing to fix the underlying security and usability problems for businesses. Just like Vista's UAC, Windows 7 keeps end users in charge of the security decision of what applications to run with administrative privileges. That's like hanging out a 'Welcome' sign for malicious users, hackers and malware.

The new UAC gives users more control over prompts, reduces the numbers of prompts, makes them more intelligble, and has a neat slider control for customizing how it works.

For home users and small business users, the new UAC is clearly superior to the old one. As for enterprise users, it remains to be seen how useful it is. Moyer, after all, has an axe to grind and a product to sell -- Privilege Manager, which give enterprise users some limited control over their PCS without having to face UAC warnings.

Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld, and the author of more than 35 books.