NoteBook

NoteBook is an application that gives you the possibility to write basic notes in a secure place that can be protected with a password. It features a few options that can be easily figured out, even by those with little or no experience in such software.

Setting it up takes minimal time and effort. There are no unfamiliar options, software requirements, or third-party offers bundled. Worth noting is that it gets installed for all PC users and enables them to create separate accounts with separate databases.

As far as the interface goes, NoteBook opts for a normal window with a simple design and layout, where new entries can be added to the database by just entering keywords and clicking a button to confirm the action.

It's possible to remove any entry if you change your mind or clear the entire list to start everything from scratch, print all notes, back up the list and settings to a new file (.bak format), as well as restore information from a backup file.

Before exiting the tool, you can secure the database by specifying the preferred password (case sensitive). It's not necessary to re-write the key for confirmation. You should know that, in case you forget the password, there's no method implemented for retrieving the notes from the database. On the other hand, you can run a separate tool accessible from the installed directory (nbreset.exe) and follow the instructions to clear memory for the current user account.

It didn't put a strain on the overall performance of the computer in our tests, thanks to the fact that it needed a low amount of CPU and memory to work properly. We haven't experienced any stability issues, since it didn't freeze, crash or indicate error messages.

NoteBook hasn't been updated for a pretty long time, however. Although it doesn't come packed with a particularly rich set of options and customization preferences, it offers a straightforward solution for writing simple notes in a password-protected environment. Plus, it's freeware.