LockFile

Computer security is of greater and greater importance, since technology is evolving at an alarming rate, and nearly all domains of activity benefit more or less from a PC. However, security doesn’t necessarily mean you have to make things complicated, and LockFile is one example of how easy it is to keep important files safe.

A major advantage for this particular type of applications is that you can use it directly from a thumb drive, meaning you can carry it around to always have the unlock key at hand. System registries aren’t modified to ensure functionality, so you don’t need to worry about the health status of the target PC.

On launch, a compact main windows shows up, and there’s no accommodation problems whatsoever, thanks to the simplicity of the design. Most effort on your behalf narrows down to selecting the file you want to lock down, and pressing the trigger button. There’s also a state indicator so you know whether or not the process is successful, and the file locked.

Unfortunately, you need to use the main window every time you want to put a lock on a file, because there’s no context menu integration for an even faster approach. Moreover, you must rely on the browse dialog to select a file, since dropping them over the main window has no effect.

The application’s name perfectly describes the whole operation, in the sense that you can only lock one file at a time. There’s no restriction to the file type, so you can just as well create an archive, and lock it in case you want to target more items.

One last thing needs to be taken into account. The lock operation requires no password, or any key, so you need to make sure you’re the only one that can access the application, otherwise your files can be compromised.

All things considered, we come to the conclusion that LockFile comes with good intentions, and is a reliable application you can use to secure sensible files on your personal computers. The lack of a password requirement still leaves files somewhat vulnerable, and practicality is slightly affected by the lack of a context menu integration, or drag and drop support.