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Lock Desktop Automatically With Smart PC Locker Pro Freeware

We can easily lock Windows desktop by pressing the Win + L keys when we want to leave our computer for a while. If you have password protected your Windows user account, no one else would be able to unlock it unless they have the correct password. It’s easy, but have you ever encountered the times when you have to leave your desktop immediately that you don’t have time to manually lock it? Or, you might think that you’re just going to leave it for a few seconds so that you don’t lock it intentionally, but then you find yourself leaving for more than just a few minutes. In situations like these, what is offered by Smart PC Locker Pro can be the perfect solution. Despite the “Pro” name, Smart PC Locker Pro is licensed as freeware that offers a much better way to lock computer compared to the built-in locking feature in Windows.

One can choose whether to download the installer or the portable version. I prefer the portable. The portable version comes in a ZIP package so it needs to be extracted to access the exe file. Open the program’s folder and double-click the NSPL file to launch the application.

Here is how to use Smart PC Locker Pro to automatically lock desktop

  1. Create a new password in the Locker tab and click the Save button to enable it. When enabled, the “Plain Text” option displays the password in plain text instead in asterisk, which is nice to make sure that you type the correct password.

    2. create password

  2. Click the “Settings” tab to open it. Check off the “Auto-Lock System After..Minutes of Inactivity”. Set the minutes of the inactivity which will be used to trigger the auto lock. There is no save button provided in this tab as the settings are applied instantly.

    3. auto lock option

That’s it.

If necessary, you can also use a custom hotkey to lock your Windows screen. This can be done in the Hotkeys tab (see the following screenshot).

hotkey tab

Don’t forget to click the Save button next to the box to enable the hotkey.

It sits on tray during its operation by default, but the program can also run in stealth mode. It hides itself so no one but you know that such a program is running behind the screen. This stealth mode can be activated by a custom hotkey as well.

Auto Lock and Auto Shutdown

The developer knows that auto lock alone isn’t enough. Even if you auto lock it and use a strong password, someone else can repeatedly try to enter numerous passwords in an attempt to login. To prevent this, you can limit the number of allowed invalid passwords. After the limit is reached, your PC will automatically shut down. You can enable this auto shutdown feature by opening the Settings tab and select the “Shutdown Windows after (X) Invalid Password Attempts” option.

automatic shutdown

It also has the option to automatically shutdown PC after it is locked for certain minutes. This should come in handy in some situation, but not if you’re doing something important. If this is the case, powering off the monitor is a much more reasonable option to take, and you can also do this with the program by selecting the “Power Off Monitor Once Locked After (X) Minutes of Inactivity” option.

There are also options to lock CD-ROM drives and disable the task manager when your PC is being locked.

I like this app. It’s small yet very useful and highly customizable. Smart PC Locker Pro is developed to work with 32-bit and 64-bit of all Windows editions. Its download size is 793.43 KB for the installer and 564 KB for the portable. Visit the developer’s website to download the program.



This entry was posted on 2012 and is filed under Security Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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