How To: Lock, Protect Certain Programs Installed On Your Computer

When you're working in a shared computer, it is often necessary to restrict others from accessing certain applications/programs installed on your PC. You don't want other people to get access with your confidential information by just simply launching certain apps without you knowing. Also, you cannot afford your kids to mess around with your files and open certain apps which could potentially bring them to websites with inappropriate contents.    

How To: Sync Your Files Across Multiple Computers, Mobile Devices

Here I am going to walk you through to another free tool that can help you prevent others from executing certain applications installed on your computer. The tool is called Applocker, a free software locking tool that locks certain applications on your computer. If you don't want others to run certain apps on your computer, then, Applocker is for you.

Applocker - Prevent Others From Opening/Executing Certain Apps On Your Computer

Applocker is a freeware that prevents specified programs from being launched. It lets you limit what applications can be used on your computer. Applocker is very useful especially for parents who want to restrict their kids to use computer, or just to keep certain programs out of reach of other people. Applocker is only limited to locking .EXE files, so you cannot lock control panel, and anything of that sort. You can however lock things like Task Manager, Explorer, Firefox, FileZilla and other .EXE files.

Protect Your USB Stick With A Password

Here's how you can lock specific programs on your computer with Applocker:

  1. Download and install your free copy of Applocke here.
  2. Launch and configure the app.
Applocker may not be the best free app-locking software available today, but we can still get the best protection by doing some 'dirty tricks'. Applocker by default allows you to lock any application by simply specifying executable's file-name. But the app doesn't have this feature of self-protection -- Applocker is not protected by itself.

Password Protect, Lock Google Chrome

To protect Applocker from being launched, just move Applocker.exe and config.txt  to any secret directory, or you can save it on your flash drive. Access both files here: C:\Program Files\SmartX\Smart-X AppLocker. And yes, you can also lock Applocker.exe using the app itself; just go to Application Locker Configuration and add Applocker.exe as protected .EXE. In order to open the locked Applocker.exe, just rename the actual Applocker.exe file to anything like Applocker1.exe.

Lock certain programs installed on your PC; prevent your kids and other users from opening unwanted apps!


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