transLock // 1.0.0.0

today I realized I never released transLock. sometime last year; maybe in 2007… I created a very basic windows lock/screensaver utility.

where I work, if security (sees your workstation or laptop unlocked) they’ll prove their point. sometimes it’s a harmless thing like sending email from your computer and sometimes it’s not.

at times I want the option of locking down / securing my laptop (so I can walk away without concern) while I can still see incoming email, monitoring systems and so on. at another company I used to use a util that would auto-lock my workstation when the bluetooth signal was weak or off on my mobile phone. but that was never a good solution for me, cause I could still be 150 feet away (in the bathroom or cafe) and my workstation was still unlocked.

getting back to my point, I grew for a need to have my workstation locked up at times, while I could still monitor what was going on. so I built transLock. it’s a windows systray utility that says hidden until you activate it. when activated, it locks up your screen (while staying opaque; which is user configurable) and will not go away until you enter the correct password. you cannot ctrl-alt-delete your way out of it, all you can to do enter the correct password, shutdown or cancel (back to entering the password).

it’s not perfect, you can still create some trouble through alt-tab. but I thought I’d release it to anyone who wants to try it out.

disclaimer: use at your own risk. this is not a security deterrent or replacement for the OSes windows lock function. if you download this utility you do so on your own accord and I am not responsible for how you use it. if you agree to this disclaimer you can download the application here.

there is no auto-update (check for updates) system in this app. so I recommend you come back to this blog for updates. the password is stored on the computer and in a proprietary encryption. the application requires .net 2.0 and is self contained. no installer is required. if you wish to have transLock run on startup, you’ll need to create a shortcut and place it in your startup folder.

NOTE: a VERY important thing to note. out-of-the-box the first-run password is the current date in the following format: YYYYMMDD …example: so if today’s date was: January 21st, 2009, the password would be: 20090121 …make sure after you unlock to set your password to something else.

that’s it. use transLock at your own risk; see the disclaimer above for details. enjoy.

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