Longhorn to use UNIX-like User Permissions

destuxor writes "After years of Windows users abusing administrative accounts out of necessity, Microsoft promises that Longhorn will make better use of user permissions in what sounds exactly like what UNIX/Linux users have been doing for years. Hopefully this will fix the long list of applcations that cannot be run by a Least-Privilege User Account (LUA) while giving a much-needed security boost. Too bad "MS-root" can't watch over your grandmother when she opens emails."

Comments

Re:'User' attitudes

[kiddailey]

I disagree.

Certain software that needs access to system-wide stuff, sure. Software that you are installing for all users, sure. Other stuff, not so much.

If software requires admin privileges to install, there's a ton of things that that software could do in addition to just installing the software. Some examples that come to mind are: installing other software such as spyware, trojans, viruses and backdoors; scatterying random hidden files on your drive; f'ing your system in general.

Personally, I don't ever fully trust anyone's software other than my own (and even that is questionable sometimes ;), and giving some arbitrary shareware admin privileges is simply way too scary -- especially when there is no need for it.