LockThis! User Manual

Overview

Welcome to LockThis! online user manual! Here you will find information about how to use LockThis!. If you think we may have missed something, or you can not find the answer for your problem while you think it should be here, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please consider this document as work in progress, so please come back visit us once in a while to get most recent information.

LockThis! is a tiny Windows utility that makes it possible to password protect almost any running programs or open documents. This tool is perfect for people who often lend their PC to others, because with this tool they can keep the content of some programs or documents secured from other people eyes without need to close them. Huge time saver if you often lend your PC.

As you will find later in this document, the protection is very easy to apply. Mostly it only involves pressing keyboard Ctrl button when minimizing the window of the program/document and supply the password in the dialog that follows (or you might had chosen to use a predefined common password, which in this case you won't be asked for password). Now the content is save because the window can not be restored or maximized without supplying correct password. Whenever the window is about to restore or maximize a dialog asking for password will pop up. If the correct password is not supplied, the restore or maximize request will be ignored and the window stays minimized.

System Requirements

To properly run LockThis! you must have PC having these minimum requirements.

• Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or better^*)
• Harddisk free space 1 MB for installation
• Windows compatible mouse. Most of the functionalities and configuration options of LockThis! are only accessible through mouse clicks.
• Windows compatible keyboard

Special note:

Situations for LockThis!

From several articles reviewing LockThis! and discussions we found that some people did not understand what situation that makes existence of LockThis! really shines. In short, LockThis! is very useful if you often or occasionally let other people see your computer screen. It maybe when others borrow your computer or you simply just have to show your screen to others (like when you need to show your work progress).

Situation 1: People Borrow Your PC

Imagine this situation:

• You are in the middle of finishing super secret formula of new alloy that will make Adamantium looks like nothing but cheap plastic. Well.. or maybe you just in the middle of payroll calculation or doing your tax report.
• Your superior come to your desk asking to borrow your PC for some urgent task, because his/her laptop was broken. In fact, it doesn't need to be your superior to successfully borrow your PC. Any people with enough social skill could make you feel wrong to say no.
• Closing your super secret applications is not first option since you may need to redownload large data, or you don't want to save the tax report just yet because after saved it could be easily searched and opened by the borrower.
• Locking your PC (Win+L) is, of course, not an option.

In this situation you can use LockThis! to lock your super secret applications. So you can avoid:

• The need to close these super secret applications
• The need to redo your work in the case you can't save your work (before close)
• Prying eyes either intentionally or unintentionally to your super secret works.
• Chance for others to comprehend what shown in the screen, because LockThis! locking process much more faster than closing (that usually involves a confirmation to quit and asking to save first).

Situation 2: Presentation

What we mean by presentation is when you need to show something on your PC screen to others. If you are prepared, then LockThis! probably won't be any help. But there are times that you are not prepared. Like you are in the middle of doing something when your superior or coworker asking you to show the latest progress of other project.

Without LockThis! you have to close applications that you don't want others to view to avoid the possibility you accidentally activate the applications in the middle of presentation (by alt+tab or clicking on the task bar icons). The advantage of using LockThis! in this situation is the same with the first situation above.