Sometimes, I've found it advantageous to run Vista with User Account Control off. I'm not sure if it is the right choice, actually for most users, in most situations it's a big mistake, kind of like driving without your headlights on.

For better or worse here's how to do it.

Enter "User Accounts" in the Vista search / launch prompt.

Now choose "User Accounts" at the top of the Vista launch menu.

You can also get there by opening the Control Panel and searching for "User Accounts".

Now you'll need to find the Turn User Account Control on or off option.

Simply enable or disable the checkbox to match your preference and your are set.

By the way, you can enable and disable the User Account Control from a command prompt if you so desire:

Disable User Account Control

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Enable User Account Control

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Now you have done it. You've gone and upset the Windows Security Center.

Here's how to appease it, and grant yourself a reprieve.

You could disable ALL Security Center notifications, but I think that is a bad idea, by following this guide.

Or you could modify your registry and just disable the User Account Control warning message, by following these instructions.