WindowsGuard 2007 Editor's Review

I wanted a software for blocking unwanted users and I found WinGuard Pro. I installed the free edition, although there is a professional (premium) edition available on the publisher's website. In the free version you are not allowed to add protection to any program beside those that are predefined, including Mozilla, MSN Messenger and Windows Media Player, Control Panel, Date and Time and the Run command. You can also protect the whole system by simply selecting a checkbox.

Everything works like a charm. Everytime you try to start any of the protected programs a window appears on a black background asking you for the password. When you enter the correct password you are able to use the program. However, there is a relock timer feature which, when selected, will disable that program again after a specified amount of time.

If you want, you can specify different passwords for access to this program's configuration pages, to the protected programs or to encrypted files or folders. I don't find this to be a very useful feature because only the user who protected the system should know the protection password.

The only thing that I don't like about this software is that when you enter Windows in safe mode you are able to uninstall it. This can be fixed by installing an addon which is only available in the professional edition. But I guess most users won't install this because this software is for home users who just want to lock folders and programs from unauthorized access.

Pluses: Ease of use.

Drawbacks / flaws: The user cannot test some of the program's features before buying because they are only available in the premium version.

In conclusion: If you want to avoid other people snooping around your personal files, this is a good solution.

version reviewed: 6.4