User manual

95
Security
User Account Control
Windows Vista and Windows 7:
The User Account Control feature ensures that no unauthorized changes are made to the computer. It
does this by asking whether a user has administrator rights to allow any changes to be made to the
system. If User Account Control is enabled, a standard user will always be asked to enter an
administrator password to make such changes.
You can specify here how a user logged on as an administrator is to be informed of potential changes to
the computer and prompted for confirmation.
This is how Windows differentiates between changes that the user makes himself (e.g. security-related
settings) and the startup of programs that can carry out changes. You can set here in detail, which
changes must require confirmation first and whether a password must be entered beforehand.
Because this is a security-relevant setting, it is advisable to leave the user account control activated
and select at least Prompt to confirm without entering password (for Windows Vista) or For
changes by programs, without password (for Windows 7).
One aim of User Account Control is to ensure that no programs start in the background without the user
being aware of it. At every program startup, Windows determines whether this program will make
changes to the computer. If this is the case and User Account Control is enabled, the user will be
prompted to have an administrator confirm the program startup. This feature is a key security step in
case an unknown (and potentially harmful) program starts up without the user having initiated it himself.
Security Center (Windows Vista) / Maintenance Center (Windows 7)
The Security Center or Maintenance Center, as it is called in Windows 7, regularly runs in the
background to check the security status of your computer and displays warnings if a possible security
problem is determined.
If these warnings are displayed on your computer in error or you do not want to be shown warnings from
the Security/Maintenance Center, you can switch the warnings off here.
Advanced
Under Screensaver password prompt, you can specify how long the screensaver has to be running
before the password protection is activated (if this option is enabled). The default value is 5 seconds.
10.1.5. Wizards
In this category you will find the Copy settings wizard. It copies your settings to other user accounts and to
the Windows logon screen.
Copy settings
You can use AVG System Control to make a number of settings by which to change the appearance and the
behavior of the system to suit your requirements. However, these settings are only normally valid for your
current user account.