HDD Secured, Boot Secured

very good
key review info
application features
  • A protected partition is invisible on the disk
  • (5 more, see all...)

Most users do not know that protecting your computer from the booting stage is possible. Applying passwords for an entire partition is also doable. You can protect the boot disk by applying a password and at booting you will be required the assigned password. This method is the cleanest of all I know, as you no longer load the OS in Safe Mode and meddle with the settings. Practically, all access to the computer is restricted from the start.

eXlade Software came up with a software that does exactly that. Disk Password Protection is a security software from the lock down category which restricts the access to your computer. It does not do only this, but it can also lock the desired partitions. They will be seen as free space and no software will be able to access it. Practically, everything will be hidden.

The price for this lock is $49.95, a little too much if you ask me, but if you have confidential files on your computer that may lead to a disaster if in the wrong hands, then I think that the price is appropriate.

The simple interface allows every type of user an ease of use I have not seen in a long time. The software does not affect the files you have stored or the behavior of your disk(s) as it just hides the files on the protected partition and restricts the access of other softwares to them.

There wizard available will help you apply passwords and protect the partitions by assisting you in every step you make. Disk Password Protection offers two choices to the user: Boot Protection and Partition Protection.

If you choose Boot Protection then your computer will be started from the protected disk only after the right password is entered. The first screen of the application will display all the disks and partitions available on your system as well as the status (protected or not) and type. Besides this information you will also get the name and letter of each drive, the size of the partitions and the disk.

A good thing is that the software will show the disks separated and next to them the number of partitions it contains. The disks will be displayed together with their size, serial number and type. A little lock will show the current status of the hard disk.

There are two ways to achieve either boot protection or partition protection. The user can use the wizard and be guided step by step or can select the disk or partition, right click and choose Enable Protection from the context menu.

The wizard way is the simplest method as it also describes the options. The first screen of the wizard lets you select the protection type (boot or partition) and describes how each of them will act. Next step is to choose the disk/partition (depending on your first choice). The third step contains three options: Enable Protection (the only one available the first time you use the program), Disable Protection and Change Password.

In the trial version entering the password is quite a drawback, as the software does not allow typing other password than "demo", but this should not stop you from testing. After clicking Start, there is only a matter of seconds until the protection is enabled. You will see the results at the next boot of your computer.

Being a protection software it would be normal to be able to apply a password for the launch protection of the software. The developer has thought this thoroughly and allowed the user to assign a password for the software. This time there is no limitation and you can type in whatever suits you best.

Disabling the protection can be done almost instantly as the buttons in the toolbar will give you fast access to this or to changing the password (for boot/partition protection this feature is available only in the full version of the program).

A Software Development Kit is included with the program so your soft devs can include Disk Password Protection features in other applications.

The Good

Easy to use application with high functionality level. The user can protect the disk or the partitions in no time and without requiring complicated information about hard disks and drives.

Even if you cannot change the boot/partition protection password you can at least design your own program launch countersign.

The Bad

Being able to apply only one password for boot/partition protection is quite a drawback because that countersign is necessary for booting. So the 30 days trial period is for nothing as you will find out what the software can do from the first try.

The Truth

I hope you realize that boot partitions cannot be protected by passwords. When attempting to do that a flashing red message displaying "ATTENTION: Bootable partition" will give the first warning. If you continue, a dialog box with a clearer message will appear: "Boot partition is denied".

More "hasty" users can use the command line support. The parameters and commands are available in the Help file.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 5
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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