PathLock

PathLock is a lightweight and portable piece of software with a simple, yet practical functionality: it gives you the possibility of restricting user access when it comes to creating and renaming files and folders on your computer, provided that you're the administrator, of course.

The program features only intuitive options that can be figured out by all types of PC users, even the ones with limited or no previous experience in such security software.

Since installation is not required, you can drop the program files in any part of the hard disk and immediately run the executable file. Another option is to save PathLock to a USB flash disk or similar storage unit, in order to run it on any PC effortlessly and without previous installers.

Worth mentioning is that the tool does not create new entries in the Windows registry or Start menu, so it does not leave any traces behind once it is removed.

The interface is represented by a single, small window that provides direct access to all available options. All you have to do is indicate a directory on the disk using the tree view (drag-and-drop is not supported), in order to forbid users from creating files and folders there. The same method can be used for forbidding access to rename items. Lifting these bans is done with the simple click of a button. There are no other noteworthy options available.

The app does not put a strain on computer performance, since it runs on low CPU and memory. We have not come across any issues throughout our evaluation, as it did not hang, crash or pop up error messages. Changes are immediately applied. Although it does not integrate rich features, PathLock offers a simple solution to restricting creating and renaming access to users.