But it's because of that setting that Windows 7 is less annoying. But should we accept annoyance anyway, if it means more security? I think we should.

Annoyance with more security isn't necessarily a bad thing. But Microsoft is trying to find a way to achieve less annoyance while maintaining security. That won't be easy.

"We understand adding an extra click can be annoying, especially for users who are highly knowledgeable about what is happening with their system (or for people just trying to get work done)," Ben Fathi, a Windows 7 engineer, wrote in a blog post. "However, for most users, the potential benefit is that UAC forces malware or poorly written software to show itself and get your approval before it can potentially harm the system."

In the face of all of the flak Microsoft got over UAC, I actually have a lot of respect for what they were trying to accomplish with it. Usable security remains challenging.