Configuring a Shortcut to Prompt for Credentials

Departmental policy requires our administrators to have two accounts—one with Administrator authority and one without. Systems administrators are supposed to use their Administrator account to perform only tasks that require Administrator authority. We showed administrators how to Shift+Ctrl+right-click a shortcut (such as Computer Management) to open the Run As dialog box, which lets users choose to run a program under another user account. However, some administrators balk at the extra step. Can we make switching accounts even easier?

You can modify a shortcut so that it automatically prompts your administrators for alternative credentials. Open the shortcut's properties, select the Shortcut tab, and click Advanced to display the Advanced Properties dialog box, which Figure 2 shows. Select the Run with different credentials check box, click OK, then open the shortcut. Windows will automatically display the Run As dialog box, which Figure 3 shows.

—Randy Franklin Smith