Background

After an upgrade to M$ Win* 10, I connected to my campus’ public Wi-Fi.¹

Problem

I mistakenly thought that it’s the same as the one described in Windows Security popup window pops up each time any connection is made on Super User.

Failed attempt to solve this problem

With M$ IE

Googling “windows security login popup”, one will find the question “Windows Security” popup asking me to enter my login information when visiting campus website on M$ Community site. Follow the steps described in the first answer from Azam, a support engineer.

Without M$ IE

To save disk space, I don’t keep M$ IE due to M$ Edge, which was shipped with the M$ Win* 10 upgrade, and in which the security tab is absent.

To set a custom security level for Internet options without M$ IE, open the same window by clicking Control Panel → Network and Internet → Internet Options. The button “Custom level” will then appear. However, under “User authentication”, there’s no checkboxes. I only saw a group of four radio buttons.

In order to find out the right choice, I appended “custom security level” in the previous Google query. According to a similar page on SysAid, I’ve chosen “Automatic log-on with current user name and password”.

True cause of the problem

Actually, the popup window prompts for the user name and password for another Wi-Fi network with a similar name to which I’m going to connect. After typing the right user name and password, I can connect to the Internet.

Lessons learnt

Although Windows Security popup window is the main focus of this blog, I’ve learnt something quite different from it because of the article Windows 10 Settings You Should Change Right Away available on Laptop Mag found during this process. The UAC is really important: by prompting for user’s confirmation during the installation of a new software, one will be aware of the apps installed on the machine. Though many users claim that those who oppose the disablement of UAC are “misinformed”, I take the words of a preferred user who says that M$ Win* 10 would become unstable if it’s been turned off.

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