Why does it ask for administrator?
Short answer: some of the most important things to check simply cannot be read by an ordinary account. Windows keeps them behind administrator rights on purpose.
About that wording
Windows asks: “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”
That is the question Windows asks about any program requesting administrator access, word for word, whatever the program goes on to do. It is not Windows telling you this one changes things. There is no separate prompt that says “this app would like to read some settings” — we would use it if there were.
Reveal Scan only reads. Nothing is changed, and nothing stays installed.
What we cannot check if you say no
These 12 are the ones that need it. Everything else in the check-up runs either way.
Whether your drive is encrypted
If a laptop is lost or stolen, an unencrypted drive can be read in full by whoever has it.
Whether ransom software could delete your restore points
These are the copies Windows uses to roll a computer back. This check looks at whether anything is set to delete them.
Whether you have any restore points at all
They are what let you roll a computer back after something goes wrong.
Your computer's security record
The log that would show a break-in. If nothing is being recorded, nothing can be reviewed later.
Unusual sign-in activity
Repeated failed sign-ins, or a successful one at an odd hour, are how an intrusion first shows up.
How the accounts on this computer sign in
Accounts with no password, or passwords that never expire, are an open door.
Programs set to run on a schedule
A scheduled task is the most common way unwanted software survives a restart.
A hiding place attackers use to stay after a restart
It is deliberately obscure, which is exactly why it is worth looking at.
A file that can silently redirect websites
It is a plain text file that decides where some website names lead.
An old file-sharing feature attackers still use
It is an old file-sharing feature that current Windows leaves switched off.
Other operating systems installed alongside Windows
Something else that boots on this hardware is worth knowing about.
Whether anyone signs in with a PIN, a fingerprint, or their face
Windows keeps those enrollments in a folder ordinary accounts cannot open, so without administrator this one comes back as not checked rather than as nobody using one.
Saying no is a real choice, not a failure
Choose No and the check-up still runs. It looks at everything it can reach without administrator rights, and then it tells you plainly which checks it had to skip — they appear in your report as things we could not look at, never as things that came back clean.
You get a shorter answer, not a wrong one. And you can run it again later and say yes; nothing is lost by trying it the cautious way first.
Before you allow anything, check who is asking
The prompt names the publisher. It should say Watchful Solutions, Inc. — the company behind Forward to Safety. If it says anything else, or Unknown publisher, choose No and email us at help@forwardtosafety.com.
It is the same check that tells you whether any program asking for administrator rights is what it claims to be — and most of the ones you should refuse will fail it.