After years working with Unix systems, I recently encountered a Windows XP environment where we needed to grant specific elevated privileges to regular users without disclosing the admin password. The built-in runas command falls short because it requires password input for every execution - completely impractical for automated processes.

The most robust solution involves creating a Windows service that runs with elevated privileges, then having users interact with it through IPC mechanisms. Here's a C# example:

using System;
using System.ServiceProcess;

namespace ElevatedService
{
    public class Program : ServiceBase
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            ServiceBase.Run(new Program());
        }

        protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
        {
            // Your privileged operations here
        }
    }
}

For simpler cases, Windows Scheduled Tasks can be configured to run with elevated privileges:

1. Create the task as Administrator
2. Set trigger to "On an event" with custom XML filter
3. Configure security options to "Run whether user is logged on or not"
4. Set the task to run with highest privileges

Another approach is creating a COM object that runs elevated, which users can instantiate through a wrapper executable:

// In ATL project
class ATL_NO_VTABLE CElevatedComponent : 
    public CComObjectRootEx,
    public IDispatchImpl
{
public:
    STDMETHOD(DoPrivilegedAction)(BSTR param);
};

Register the COM object with elevated rights, then users can call it through a client app without admin rights.

When implementing any privilege escalation pattern in Windows:

• Always validate input parameters
• Limit the scope of elevated operations
• Implement proper logging
• Consider using restricted tokens even for elevated contexts

While Windows doesn't have a direct SUID equivalent, these patterns can achieve similar functionality. The service approach offers the most flexibility, while scheduled tasks work well for simpler cases. Always remember to implement proper security controls when dealing with privilege elevation.

Coming from Unix-like systems, many developers expect Windows to have equivalent privilege elevation mechanisms. The fundamental difference lies in Windows' security model - unlike Unix's setuid bit, Windows requires explicit credential validation through User Account Control (UAC) or the runas command.

For Windows XP, here are several practical solutions to achieve persistent elevated privileges without repeated password prompts:

Scheduled Tasks Method

Create a scheduled task with elevated privileges that runs your executable:

schtasks /create /tn "ElevatedTask" /tr "C:\path\to\program.exe" /sc onlogon /ru "Administrator" /rp "password"

This runs automatically at login. Remove credentials after setup with:

schtasks /change /tn "ElevatedTask" /ru "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM"

Service Wrapper Solution

Create a Windows service that executes your program with SYSTEM privileges:

sc create ElevatedService binPath= "C:\path\to\program.exe" start= auto
sc config ElevatedService obj= ".\LocalSystem" password= ""

Warning: Storing credentials in scripts or scheduled tasks creates security vulnerabilities. Consider these alternatives:

• Implement proper Windows service architecture
• Use Group Policy for controlled privilege delegation
• Refactor your application to minimize privilege requirements

For newer Windows versions, the recommended practice is using manifest files to declare privilege requirements:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
  <trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <security>
      <requestedPrivileges>
        <requestedExecutionLevel level="requireAdministrator"/>
      </requestedPrivileges>
    </security>
  </trustInfo>
</assembly>