Windows 10: Remove yellow/blue sheild icon from shortcuts

so the system will not let you paste a possible virus into the system folder, a system file that does not pass the security checks could be anything *Wink - maybe you need to contact the game developers to write their code correctly so that their games do not need admin rights, the game has to have admin rights because the developers are still writing for XP and the like and probably saving files into areas that the SDK prohibits for good reason.

Using an edited copy of a windows file is also a breech of the EULA that everyone agrees to when installing. Although unlikely, the use of such files may cause windows to crash or even have the key blacklisted

 

Well I'm not sure what I was doing different at first but after a reboot and trying to CTRL X + CTRL V the new imageres it worked. Wierd it wouldn't let me drag it in or paste it in. Anyway, I'm happy now because I have regained what my desktop looked like BEFORE this upgrade to Win10. I don't need to see UAC icons, they are ugly and useless

 

Ok your choice. enjoy your illegal Windows

 

EDIT: Here's a solution...
Launch the shortcuts via CMD:

• Right-click the shortcut to Properties
• Click Change Icon, then click OK when its window pops up (necessary step to avoid losing the icon)
• Add the following, plus a space, to the beginning of the Target field, leaving the existing path at the end:
  Code: cmd /c start ""[/quote]

I do this and the shortcut opens the command window

 

You missed the last part about "leaving the existing path at the end"... So, it should be like:
Code: cmd /c start "" "C:\Path\To\Your.exe"[/quote]

 

Thanks, but no. I didn't miss it. I just didn't include it in my post. My command looks like yours, DOES eliminate the shield from the icon, but upon clicking, opens the system command window only.

Here's something I didn't notice. As soon as I apply the text change, the command flips itself into this:
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c start "" "C:\ {etc}
That explains the opening of the command window...but Microsoft has done something here disallowing me to alter the text....
(a few minutes later...)
NOW it works! Yet I get the command window for a microsecond THEN my target.
So much drama...

 

This is the most easy and effective way of doing it. Takes two minutes and a reboot. That's it.
Works on Windows 10 Pro.
I know this is an "old" thread but when searching this problem it's top of the list in google, so that's why I wanted to share this update.

Credits to the one who posted this in another forum, I didn't find this solution myself, just tried it and it worked straight away!

Warning; after the reboot when you're back in windows it takes a couple of seconds for the shield icon to dissapear so don't freak out when you see it after the reboot, it works!


EASY SOLUTION:

Set on the option "View hidden files and folders".
Go to C:\Users"username"\App Data\Local\ where IconCache.db file is.
Rename it (for example: IconCache1.db) or create a new folder there and put it inside.
Hide system files and folders again. (If you want it)
And the file will be there just in case you need it again.
Reboot and wait a few seconds.

That's it.
*Party

 

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but doesnt the cmd c/ start "" command mentioned by Micheal simply run the program without administrator rights?
If so why not just go to the program roots folder -> right click on the .exe files and select "Properties" -> Select Compatibility tab and uncheck "Run this program as an administrator". After that, either make a new shortcut on the desktop or reset icon cache (https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...dows-10-a.html) and the UAC shield icon overlay for that shortcut will be gone. By doing this you can open your non-shield-overlay-shortcut without seeing the splashing screen of the command prompt.

The catch is that the program will just run without administrator rights with "might" limit some of its function (not really sure about this, I havent gotten any issues so far). There are also other methods to launch a program as admin: via a .bat script ( https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...dows-10-a.html).


These methods worked for me but as my knowledge simply came from a bit Googling, they might be wrong. Any expert input are appreciated. *Smile

 

This is not a standard icon (sort of).

It is used as an overlay of the program's icon when the program has admin rights.
If you can find out where this icon is, and can edit it, just change all pixels to transparent.
While it will still be used, it won't be seen.
The one in imageres.dll seems to be a regular icon, so changing it might not work.
There's another one in user32.dll, also a regular icon. There may be a few elsewhere as well.

I use Microangelo to look for and edit icons. If you're going to try changing one, save it first so if it doesn't work, you can replace it.

 

After trying all registry and command line methods of removing the shield from my desktop icons, I finally decided to PERMANENTLY remove them from their source - the imageres.dll file.

Since the imageres.dll file is required to run explorer - I had to copy the file to a different location so it could be edited with Resource Tuner.

I then replaced all Shield overlay icons (#78) in the imageres.dll file with exact size TRANSPARENT overlay icons using Resource Tuner (all overlay icons must be replaced with the exact same sizes and depth).

The imageres.dll file in C:\Windows\System32 could not be replaced while Windows is running, so I rebooted from a USB drive that contained a Desktop Utility and replaced it from there.

After restarting Windows, I rebuilt the existing Icon Cache with the following steps:
1. Open a CMD window as an administrator.
2. Type or paste ‘ ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache’
3. Type or paste ‘taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F’.
4. Type or paste ‘DEL /A /Q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"’.
5. Type or paste ‘DEL /A /F /Q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"’.
6. Type or paste ‘shutdown /r /f /t 00’.

The PC will shut down.
Afterwards, you should have no shield displayed in the Desktop icons.

If you dont want to go through this process yourself - here is a copy of my edited dll file - remember you have to replace the file in C:\Windows\System32 from a CD or USB drive when Windows is not running.

edited imageres dll file.rar - HeroUpload

P.S. I am running Windows 10 64bit

 

No, if the program is set to run as admin, it will still do so when launched like this via cmd.

If you were to just uncheck the run as admin box, the program might not function properly.

 

I still find it easier to extract the original icon modify it with IcoFX as per the instructions in the original tutorial then use ResHacker to replace it to a copy of imageres.dll then to solve the issue of Windows not pasting the file when trying to replace the original, copy the modded one to the Windows folder and copy it again from there then go to into the System32 folder take ownership of the original dll rename it to .bak or so and paste the modded one saying yes to the prompts. Never had an issue of not being able to rename the original while Windows is running. To clear the icon cache you would need to follow the instruction in post #23 or use a program called Dism++ you can find on the MDL site that will do it for you. You can delete the copy of imageres.dll you put in the Windows folder once it's all done and keep a copy of the modded icon as it can be used again in the future so only need to replace the original icon using ResHacker without the other steps

 

Open REGEDIT>HKey_Classes_Root.

Find: "lnkfile"

In the right pane, look for "ISshortcut"

Right click
Delete
Reboot

No more arrows.

NEVER USE TWEAKING PROGRAMS!!

Most tweaks out there, are either no good, or CAN be harmful.

Learn to edit your registry yourself.

 

First off...thank you very much! It works! Well...for the most part...

Second...it's not as straight-forward as you make it sound. You need to not be a computer illiterate idiot to figure out the things you didn't thoroughly explain. Namely "what kind of bootable Desktop Utility are you talking about?". I went with Active Boot Disk installed on a USB flash drive. Which worked perfectly. What you need to do with it is fairly self-explanatory. Granted you aren't the "computer illiterate idiot" I spoke of previously. If you are...get someone who isn't to help you with it. I'm sure such folks could probably be found on this particular site even. I just don't have the time or patience to go over all the intimate details at the moment.

Third...there are some drawbacks to this method.

• It only works for Desktop Icons.
• It doesn't work for new Desktop Icons.

So...what that means is:

• Other Icons that aren't found on the Desktop will be left with a black square where the yellow/blue shield used to be(say the ones you may have in Documents or Downloads for example).
• If you create a new Desktop Icon, that would have had the yellow/blue shield, it will now also have a black square instead of the yellow/blue shield. This requires you to rebuild the Icon Cache again to fix it. No biggy. You already know how to do that.

Lastly...my recommendations are:

• Make a backup copy of the original imageres.dll file before you do anything. Then rename it to differentiate it from the modified imageres.dll file you'll be using to replace the one in C:\Windows\System32. Something like imageres(original).dll. That way you can easily put things back how they were. If you decide you aren't satisfied with the results. Though sfc /scannow may be just as easy an option. I'm not 100% sure on that...so I went with the file backup method. Hence my recommendation that you do the same.
• To make things easier for rebuilding the Icon Cache you can use the BAT file found here. Hold on to it for later...since you'll need to rebuild the Icon Cache every time you create a new Icon on the Desktop that will now show up with the black square instead of the yellow/blue shield.

All said and done...it's still a pretty good way to do it. If you can stand the imperfections. All the other methods I tried failed(or I decided were inferior for whatever reason and never bothered trying). It was either this way works...or I was going to have to do the convoluted Task Scheduler routine. Which I'm not very interested in doing at the moment. What a hassle. *Banghead For now...I'll put up with the black squares on my non-desktop icons...and call it good. *Smile

 

I have Windows Professional and Windows Home

My Home Version Had the Blue and Yellow Shield on the Desktop Icons
I took two files ... a fix.bat and the imageres.dll and made an install using winrar

I made it an executable... but you can rename it .rar to see the files inside
and rename it back to .exe so that you can run the install...

the fix.bat allows the imageres.dll to be replaced and renames the original to
the filename plus the time you changed it with a .bak ending ... an example is "Imageres_ 80237.bak"
which was installed at 8:02 am

Here is the fix.bat

@ECHO OFFCLSTAKEOWN /f %WINDIR%\system32\imageres.dll && icacls %WINDIR%\system32\imageres.dll /grant administrators:Frename %windir%\system32\imageres.dll "Imageres_%TIME:~0,2%%TIME:~3,2%%TIME:~6,2%.bak"COPY imageres.dll %WINDIR%\system32\imageres.dllCLSEXIT

Worked for me... My Icons are normal now.. no Blue and Yellow Shield Icons just like my
Windows 10 Pro version...