What is User Account Control?
User Account Control is a mandatory access control enforcement feature for Windows. Microsoft introduced it to strengthen the security of its essential system files and folders. Often, you need to take ownership of a file or folder to perform operations on system files and folders. The Trusted Installer group owns these system files and folders.
Hence, any other group including the Administrators group cannot change the permissions of any of those files or folders unless they also have ownership.
If you navigate to Control Panel > User Accounts > Change Account Type, you will see the following options listed on the page:
- Standard: Standard Account can use most software and change system settings that don’t affect other users or the security of the PC.
- Administrator: Administrators have a complete control panel over the PC. They can change any settings and access all of the files and programs stored on the PC.
As we can see, the Administrator account is more privileged than the standard account. Hence, it’s best to set your account type to Administrator. Check the box that says Administrator and hit Change Account Type to save your changes.
How to Take Ownership of a Folder in Windows 10?
If you’re not a tech-savvy person like many other people, you also must be having issues with Windows 10 and its functions sometimes. There are times when you’re unable to move or rename your file. This is due to not having full permission to make changes in the file. However, this isn’t an issue anymore. In the article, we’ll explain how you can take ownership of a folder in Windows 10.
The system has made some changes since the user account control has been introduced in different Microsoft OS, (such as Vista) and this has enabled a boost in the security of its core. But, before we explain the step-by-step guidance on How to Take Ownership of a Folder in Windows 10, we will understand first the basics of User Account Control.