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Dell Update Packages User's Guide

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Microsoft Windows Server 2008 User Account Control

In Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and earlier, user accounts were often members of the local Administrators group and had access to administrator privileges. Members of the local Administrators group install, update, and run software since an Administrator account has system-wide access. When a user is added to the local Administrators group, that user is automatically granted Windows privileges. These privileges provides access to all operating system resources. Hence, user accounts with Administrator privileges posses a security risk by providing access to operating system resources that would be exploited by malicious software (or malware).

User Account Control (UAC) is a new security feature in the Windows Server 2008 operating system. When enabled, it restricts access to critical system resources for all users except the built-in local Administrator.

The three types of user accounts in the Windows Server 2008 operating system are:
  • Domain Administrator Account, user account with administrator privileges.
  • Standard User Account, allows the user to install software and change system settings that do not affect other users or the security of the computer.
  • Local Administrator Account, is the default super user of the operating system.
The user experience for a Domain Administrator Account differs from a Local Administrator Account when UAC is enabled. When a Domain Administrator Account requires access to critical system resources, the Windows Server 2008 operating system prompts for one of the following before launching a program or task that requires full administrator access:
  • Permission to elevate privileges (in the case of a user in the Domain Administrators group)
  • Domain administrator credentials to elevate privileges (in the case of standard users)

UAC prompts users in the Domain Administrators group (except the Administrator account) to click Continue, if they need to elevate privileges, or to click Cancel when performing functions that may entail a security risk. With UAC, users have to upgrade to an Administrator account before running DUPs.

  • NOTE: Since the user experience is configurable with the Security Policy Manager snap-in ( secpol.msc) and with Group Policy, there are multiple UAC user experiences. The configuration choices made in environment will affect the prompts and dialogs seen by standard users, administrators, or both. UAC can be disabled by disabling the User Account Control: Run Administrators in Admin Approval Mode setting and requires a system reboot.
If a DUP is run in the GUI mode, the Windows Server 2008 operating system needs the user to permit the operation. But if a DUP is run in unattended mode, the user can bypass the pop-up window for permission by performing any of the following actions:
  • Change the group security policy, User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode , to No Prompt to disable the pop-up window or elevate privileges without prompting for the Administrators group.
  • Disable UAC.
  • Use scripts to run the DUP and impersonate yourself as a local administrator at runtime.
  • Dell DUP HDD firmware update utility related to system memory utilization requires minimum of 8 GB to 16 GB RAM in the server.

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