Elevate To System

Elevate To System is a simplistic utility that gives PC administrators the possibility to run any application with the LocalSystem system account (includes the NT Authority\Local System and BUILTIN\Administrators SIDs), in order to gain access to most system objects.

This is a predefined Windows account that acts like a computer on the network and has higher privileges than the administrator. For example, it allows you to replace a process level token to determine which account may call a specific API for enabling one service to start another (e.g. Task Scheduler), stop the creation of security audit entries, as well as stop bypassing traverse checking when getting notifications for changes occurred in files and folders.

The software utility doesn't require installation or any DLL files to run. It can be saved anywhere on the disk or on a removable storage unit to launch it on any computer and gain LocalSystem rights. However, you should keep mind mind that you need administrative privileges to use it.

The interface is represented by a very small frame that shows only two dialog boxes and two buttons. You can indicate the path to a specific file using the file browser, as well as write command-line parameters, although this is not mandatory.

Another method is by dropping a file onto Elevate To System's executable file. After executing the command, the tool automatically exits. A very important aspect that must be mentioned is the program must be used every time you want to execute a file with LocalSystem rights, since it's not designed to remember this setting.

It worked smoothly in our tests, without hanging, crashing or prompting error dialogs. To sum it up, Elevate To System is a feather-light and simple-to-use, yet powerful application that grants you LocalSystem account access to any Windows file.