14 DAY TRIAL // Securing your computer can turn into an awful headache. You have to keep it protected from viruses, spyware, hack attacks, worms etc. And if there is more than one user account available, then you will have to take measures in order to keep your files and folders safe from intrusive eyes.
There are twice as many methods to unlock a computer as there are solutions to lock it. It does not matter if you assign passwords for each account on your computer because a cunning mind or even a newbie that knows where to search on the Internet could find the information to pass your security and log into your account (loading the OS in Safe mode is the most well known method).
So, you strive to find some softwares that are capable of locking your computer in such a way that no one will be able to use it without your permission. JCMatt Software comes with a very practical and easy solution. Locked! software is especially designed to protect your computer no matter what. The price of the application is $20 and the developer imposed only one limitation: you cannot use the software for more than 30 days. I say they give plenty of time to thoroughly test the program.
The interface created by the developer is not much. In fact, during testing, one can clearly see that the emphasis when creating the software was more on its functionality then on its looks. Anyway, when you first launch the application you will be opened the about page of the software. All the options are dispersed all around the About screen.
You can see from the top that there will not be problems handling it and every option is clearly explained in the Help menu. Unlike other machine locking applications out there, Locked! will definitely make your computer inaccessible to all the persons that fail to type in the correct password. In order to protect your station, you should activate the Administrator mode from the program. This way it does not matter who tries to use the computer because all the functions are locked under your countersign.
I tried to avoid the software in some ways, but I could not skip the password screen prompting and all my efforts were in vain. Rebooting the machine won't help you at all, as the cunning software will also perform a boot lock and a safe mode lock, so try as you want and you will still be needing a password to use the computer.
A major advantage of Locked! is that it can also block the access to the volumes installed. You will not be able to access any drive of the workstation if it is locked. All the settings of the computer can be made in the Security window of the application. Well, most of them, as there are other options available, which can be as useful as the actual locking sometimes.
It is in here where you can change the master password, set the hotkey or select the lock type (boot, startup or both). To protect the data on your drives and block the access you should press the FSS (File System Security) button at the bottom of the window, in the middle. A simple checking of the boxes in front of the drive letter will suffice for the changes to take effect.
You will notice that the primary disk (booting drive) is not listed. The reason is that while all the disks are locked, the OS has to load from somewhere and the program is accessed from C:/. A very useful feature of Locked! is blocking the access to certain user defined folders. For this to be achieved all you need to is drag and drop them in the folder window. The downside is determined by the fact that the CPU usage while locking the folders will practically go through the roof.
In the General settings part of the window, the users can configure the application to load with Windows, enable the Admin mode (no one but you will be able to unlock the computer) and the Message mode. In addition to these options, setting an idle timer for the software to activate the locking as well as configuring a shutdown of the machine if the password is wrong are also available. Activation at a certain hour of the day can be set in Preset Activate.
Display tab gives you the chance to set the displaying image while the computer is locked. You can select from the options available in the utility or load your own files from the computer.
At the bottom row of options available in the application window there is the Messages tab. This is a new feature in such softwares that allows interaction from the third parties. That is they can leave you messages while you are away from your computer and the machine is locked. If activated from Security tab, this option allows everybody to leave a note on your computer for you to see when you return.
The Settings option of this feature lets you type in a message that will be displayed from your part, informing the others of your return or warning them that the computer is locked.
The Good
The application did a hell of a job blocking my computer. The options it makes available are useful, especially the messaging service. Also, the lock is so tight that it cannot be deactivated through common means.
The Bad
When adding the files to be protected, I had a deep disappointment. The program was keeping my CPU between 85-97. That was the final lock of my computer. It is true that I tried to lock an 18GB large folder, but I got the same result when adding a 280MB folder.
The Truth
If you consider using the software just for locking your entire machine and entire drives, then it is OK and a 4 star rating is truly deserved (the GUI and all the other baddies ate one of the stars), but if you want to use it to protect large files and folders, then you'd better look elsewhere.
Once you have successfully added your files, they will become invisible. If you have problems working with the software, take a look in the Help file, it'll explain all the aspects you need an answer to.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
