How to Require UAC Passwords on Administrator Accounts

Normally, User Account Control (UAC) does not require a password on administrator accounts by default. This can be problematic, since if you step away from your computer, someone else can make changes without your permission. But you can change this so that an administrator password in required. However, keep in mind that this only works on Windows 10 Pro. It will not work on Windows 10 Home. If you have Windows 10 Pro, then this wikiHow will show you how to set UAC to always require a password.

Steps

  1. Image titled Open Security Policy Editor.png
    1
    Open the Security Policy Editor. Press ⊞ Win+R to open "Run". Then, type in secpol.msc and press ↵ Enter.
  2. Image titled Open Security Options.png
    2
    Expand "Local Policies". Then, click on "Security Options".
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  3. Image titled Open UAC Policy.png
    3
    Look for the policy named "User account control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode".
  4. Image titled Open UAC Policy Properties.png
    4
    Right click and choose "Properties". You can also double click it.
  5. Image titled Open UAC Policy Properties Click Dropdown.png
    5
    Click on the drop-down menu in the dialog box.
  6. Image titled Change UAC Setting.png
    6
    Choose "Prompt for Credentials on the Secure Desktop" in the drop-down menu.
  7. Image titled Change UAC Setting click OK.png
    7
    Click OK. This will enable requiring a password on a UAC prompt for administrators.
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Warnings

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Things You'll Need

  • Windows 10 Pro

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References

  1. ↑ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/user-account-control-behavior-of-the-elevation-prompt-for-administrators-in-admin-approval-mode
  2. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/user-account-control-behavior-of-the-elevation-prompt-for-administrators-in-admin-approval-mode

About This Article

Tested by:
wikiHow Technology Team
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 9 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.
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Co-authors: 9
Updated: March 2, 2021
Views: 706
Categories: Windows Passwords
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