WinLock
Posted by: Jim Losi on: 01/22/2004 07:00 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Most of us at some point in our computing experience have had computers that we wanted to lock down for various reasons. It could be a nosy roommate or a sibling that likes to be dangerous enough on your machine to render it all but dead and ready for a format. Not everyone is a windows policy editor guru, understands what the policy editor options are all about or even know that it exists. Additionally, the policy editor can’t be timed for locking and unlocking your PC nor does it log activity. Some of us like a simple GUI that is to the point and understandable from a typical users point of view and has some more flexible features than just locking controls of ones PC on a black and white basis.
WinLock may be a solution for those of you who seek a little extra control over your machine, especially if you’re still on Windows 98/ME or a network administrator looking to lock down PC’s remotely.
WinLock has your typical install process. The defaults are sufficient.
Upon opening WinLock it will present you with configuration options for actions on system start-up. The options are to the point: enable/disable WinLock, set a password, start up with windows, etc. WinLock only requires a 2 character password. I found this completely lacking for proper security, especially for a program that is supposed to “secure” your computer. The only reason I can see for such a short password is that a 2 character password is easy to remember?.
<center>
[thumb]winlocklockscreen.jpg[/thumb][thumb]winlockmain.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
WinLock has the ability to log file/folder changes and media removal. This is a very nice feature that can definitely help in pin pointing the source of many issues. You can lock the desktop, context menus, control panel and items therein. And with the ability to remove drives from “My Computer”, lock key-board and mouse buttons/combinations, lock the taskbar, start menu items and boot options (for Win9x/ME), you can’t go wrong.
<center>
[thumb]winlocksecurity.jpg[/thumb][thumb]winlocklog.jpg[/thumb][thumb]winlocklogging.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
Going out to the movies and don’t want your roommate to mess with your baby? No problem, you can set a timer for the lock interval.
<center>
[thumb]winlocktimer.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
WinLock also gives you have the ability to remove files, folders and windows with specified captions such as “Microsoft Internet Explorer”, from being locked. This basically lets you lock down the entire computer if you wish and only have specified applications that are executable; Can you say kiosk?
Last but not least, lets say you’re an administrator of a Windows based network. Who wants to mess around with going to all the PC’s and configuring WinLock on them? Didn’t think so. WinLock has remote administration ability! Connect to the control panel, upload a profile and lock your clients! You can even send single commands to the client. Note that the remote administration of clients requires the Remote Administrator software, which is available on <a href="http://www.Crystaloffice.com">Crystal Office's</a> site for a 30 day trial or purchase.
<center>
[thumb]winlockremoteadmin.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
With the exception of the extremely weak password requirements, WinLock performed as expected and is quite a powerful tool. I caution the person who likes to tinker with configurations of such utilities, as the ability to lock ALL mouse buttons is a possibility.
WinLock is a nice utility that does the job well but used improperly can ruin your day.
Score:
(4/5)Stars
WinLock may be a solution for those of you who seek a little extra control over your machine, especially if you’re still on Windows 98/ME or a network administrator looking to lock down PC’s remotely.
WinLock has your typical install process. The defaults are sufficient.
Upon opening WinLock it will present you with configuration options for actions on system start-up. The options are to the point: enable/disable WinLock, set a password, start up with windows, etc. WinLock only requires a 2 character password. I found this completely lacking for proper security, especially for a program that is supposed to “secure” your computer. The only reason I can see for such a short password is that a 2 character password is easy to remember?.
<center>
[thumb]winlocklockscreen.jpg[/thumb][thumb]winlockmain.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
WinLock has the ability to log file/folder changes and media removal. This is a very nice feature that can definitely help in pin pointing the source of many issues. You can lock the desktop, context menus, control panel and items therein. And with the ability to remove drives from “My Computer”, lock key-board and mouse buttons/combinations, lock the taskbar, start menu items and boot options (for Win9x/ME), you can’t go wrong.
<center>
[thumb]winlocksecurity.jpg[/thumb][thumb]winlocklog.jpg[/thumb][thumb]winlocklogging.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
Going out to the movies and don’t want your roommate to mess with your baby? No problem, you can set a timer for the lock interval.
<center>
[thumb]winlocktimer.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
WinLock also gives you have the ability to remove files, folders and windows with specified captions such as “Microsoft Internet Explorer”, from being locked. This basically lets you lock down the entire computer if you wish and only have specified applications that are executable; Can you say kiosk?
Last but not least, lets say you’re an administrator of a Windows based network. Who wants to mess around with going to all the PC’s and configuring WinLock on them? Didn’t think so. WinLock has remote administration ability! Connect to the control panel, upload a profile and lock your clients! You can even send single commands to the client. Note that the remote administration of clients requires the Remote Administrator software, which is available on <a href="http://www.Crystaloffice.com">Crystal Office's</a> site for a 30 day trial or purchase.
<center>
[thumb]winlockremoteadmin.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
With the exception of the extremely weak password requirements, WinLock performed as expected and is quite a powerful tool. I caution the person who likes to tinker with configurations of such utilities, as the ability to lock ALL mouse buttons is a possibility.
WinLock is a nice utility that does the job well but used improperly can ruin your day.
Score:
(4/5)Stars
