Many people’s favorite version of Windows is Windows XP, but there are some significant security advancements since that infamous version of Windows that make it not the number one choice for those who are well educated within the Windows environment.
One of the features Microsoft has come up with since then is User Account Control (UAC), which helps put a stop to malware from spreading throughout your system, at least without your knowledge. If you decide to give malware administrative rights to your system, then there isn’t much Windows can do to deny that, but now every time you go to run an application with administrative permissions, you’ll need to manually confirm the action by clicking on the “Yes” button when prompted by User Account Control. It takes an extra click and a few more seconds to execute, but at least you can rest easy knowing that no malware can silently install without you knowing about it.
Many applications found within Windows run with standard user permissions when you open them. They’re designed this way so that people even with standard level user permissions can use them. Some other apps, especially ones not designed with security in mind, can require a higher level of permissions before they can run. These are called Legacy apps.
When you need to run applications with full administrative permissions, you’ll be prompted by User Account Control first, and UAC will make you confirm you want to allow the app the admin rights before Windows will let it run.
If you’re routinely dealing with applications that need these administrative permissions and you know and trust them, you can create a workaround, so User Account Control doesn’t keep prompting you every time you want to use the application. Naturally, you should let User Account Control do its job for the most part, but the option of creating an elevated shortcut for an app, so you don’t see UAC is there for anyone who often opens the same applications over and over again and wants to save time knowing that there is no threat.
The following tutorial demonstrates how to create a shortcut that has the administrative permissions and without User Account Control being prompted when you’re using a version of the Windows 10 operating system.
How to Create Elevated Shortcut without UAC Prompt
You can create an elevated shortcut without having to see the prompt from User Account Control from the Task Scheduler in Windows 10.
1. Press the Windows logo + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type “taskschd.msc” and click on “OK” to open the Task Scheduler.
2. From the Task Scheduler’s left pane, click on the “Task Scheduler Library” and then click on where it says “Create Task…” in the right pane under Actions. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
3. For the name, type “Elevated Command Prompt.” (click to enlarge screenshot below)
4. For the description, enter anything that you think describes the name well. If you need ideas, you can copy the same as ours: “Open up the Command Prompt (admin) without being prompted by User Account Control. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
Note: The description is optional but recommended so you can easily understand the task that you’re creating at a later date when you might otherwise forget.
5. Check the box next to where it says “Run with highest privileges.” (click to enlarge screenshot below)
6. From the Configure for drop-down menu, select the “Windows 10” operating system. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
7. Click on the “Actions” tab at the top of the Task window and then click on the “New” button. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
8. Where it says program/script, type “cmd.exe” and then add an argument in the available field if you like.
Note: In our example, we entered the task name and the full path of the application file as the argument. When copied, it appears like this: /c start “Elevated command prompt” “%windir%\System32\cmd.exe.”
a. Click on the “OK” button to continue.
9. The new task has been created, and you’ll see it there in the list of Actions. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
10. Click on the “Conditions” tab and then uncheck the box next to where it says “Start the task only if the computer is on AC power” under the Power heading. (click to expand screenshot below)
a. Click on the “OK” button to continue. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
11. You’ll now see the Elevated Command Prompt task listed as a new task in the Task Scheduler Library. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
12. Now you’ll want to create a shortcut to the new task since you plan on using it often and the general idea was to save yourself the time. To do that, right-click on the desktop background and hover over “New” and then select “Shortcut” from the submenu. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
13. Where it offers a field for typing the location of the item, put “schtasks /run /tn “Elevated Command Prompt” and then click on the “Next” button. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
14. Where it offers a field for typing the name of the shortcut, put “Elevated Command Prompt” and then click on the “Finish” button. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
15. Right-click on the new shortcut that you just created and then click on the “Properties” link. (click to expand screenshot below)
16. Select the “Shortcut” tab from the top of the Elevated Command Prompt properties dialog and then click on the “Change icon” button.
17. Click on the “OK” button when you see the message letting you know the current file contains no icons.
18. Under where it says to look for icons in this file, copy and paste the %windir%\System32\cmd.exe file location and then click “Enter.” Highlight the CMD icon and then click on the “OK” button at the bottom of the Change icon window.
19. Click on the “OK” button at the bottom of the Elevated Command prompt properties dialog to save the changes.
20. You can now see your new Elevated Command Prompt icon on the desktop that you can double-click on to open anytime you want to use the CMD window with admin rights and without User Account Control getting in the way. (click to enlarge screenshot below)
That’s all.