How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive

This imprecation was really original, I had never heard it before. Tell me, what made you so angry? Your beloved sister who, while you were away from home, has once again turned the documents in the PC upside down? I expected that. If I were you, I would put ultra-advanced passwords and secret folders aside and opt for a more drastic solution. A password, in fact, however complex and advanced it may be, will never guarantee the total security of your computer because, as you have noticed, you can be bypassed in various ways.

Taking into account what you just wrote, what would you say to lock your PC with a USB drive? A system that turns out to be as original as it is safe, is not it? If you are interested in it, please read this guide dedicated to the subject just to find out how to proceed. I can assure you right away that at the end you will be able to tell you very happy and satisfied with what you have learned.

To succeed in the enterprise, I will pay you immediately, you will have to resort to the use of some programs specially designed for the purpose in question. They are all rather simple to use and configure but at the same time ensure a high level of PC protection. Then? What would you say to put the talk aside and finally go to the real action? Yes? Great. We proceed! I wish you, as usual, good reading and I wish you a great good luck for everything.

Index – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive

Predator – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive
USB Raptor – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive
Rohos Logon Key – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive
Alternative solutions for Mac – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive

Predator – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive

The first of the useful resources for the purpose of which I wish to speak to you is Predator. This is a commercial program (but usable in a free trial version for 10 days, the one I used to write this step) that rightly allows you to lock the PC with a USB drive, making it work only when the pen is connected to the computer. When the pendrive is removed from the PC this stops working. Let’s take a closer look at how to configure and exploit the program.

The first step to accomplish is to download the program on the PC. To do so, connect to the Predator download page and select the item Download Predator Home Edition and then select the link related to the version of Windows in use on your PC: Download Predator Home Edition for 64-bit Windows (if you are using Windows 64 bit ) or Download Predator Home Edition for 32-bit Windows (if you are using 32-bit Windows).

When the download is complete, extract the compressed archive you have just obtained in any position on your computer and launch the InstallPredator.exe executable file present in it and, in the window that opens, click on the Next button. Then accept the conditions of use of the program, by selecting the entry I Agree, and click first on Next three consecutive times, then on Yes and then on Close, to complete the setup procedure.

Once the on-screen program window is displayed, insert the USB key you wish to use to lock the computer and click the OK button in response to the warning that appears. In the window that opens, select the drive for the USB drive from the drop-down menu located next to the Drive selected :, type the password you want to use to lock / unlock the computer in the New Password: field and click on OK first save the password on the USB device.

At this point, remove the USB drive from the computer to lock it. The screen will then turn black within a few seconds and you will not be able to do anything until the pen is reinserted into the PC. Fantastic, is not it?

You can also start Predator every time you log in to Windows, by right clicking on its icon in the notification area (next to the Windows clock) and selecting the Preferences … item from the menu that opens. In the window that appears, then put the check mark next to the Start with Windows: and click on the OK button to save the changes.

I point out then that always from the same window of the preferences of the program you can set the times related to the reading and writing interval acting on the main Options tab, while going into the Alarm Options you can adjust the possible reproduction of an alarm sound on your computer in case someone tries to access the latter without the unlocking pendrive.

If, on the other hand, you want to view the complete registry of the blocking and unlocking activities of the computer that have been done using Predator, right-click on the program icon that is always in the Windows notification area, select Show Registry … from the menu that appears and in the window that you will later see appear on the desktop you can then consult (and if necessary also export) the complete record of the activities performed.

USB Raptor – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive

As an alternative to the resource mentioned above, you can appeal to USB Raptor to be able to lock your PC with a USB stick. It is in fact another software belonging to the category, totally free and that does not require installation in order to work that is able to fulfill the purpose in question. There are also numerous advanced options to configure and customize the operation of the program.

To use it, firstly make the download of the program on your computer by connecting to the relevant download page and then clicking on the Download button. When the download is complete, extract the compressed archive obtained in any position of your computer and launch the USB Raptor.exe executable file present in it.

If, when starting the program, you see a firewall warning appearing asking you whether to allow access to all the functions of USB Raptor, you consent without problems. In the window of the program that you will see later, check the box next to the entry I have read the above and then presses the button I agree that is below to accept the terms of use of the software.

Now, connect the key you want to use to lock and unlock the PC to one of the computer’s USB jacks, select the relevant unit from the drop-down menu under the item Select USB drive: next to the Unlock file creation section and then type the password that you want to use in the field below the entry Password in the section Encryption that is at the top and to finish press the button Create k3y file.

Check the box next to the Enable USB Raptor item in the USB Raptor status section below and the program will immediately go into action. Once this is done, you can minimize the relevant settings window in the Windows notification area (next to the system clock) by clicking on the Minimize to tray button.

From now on, by unplugging the USB drive the computer will be locked and the PC screen will be dimmed. By reconnecting the USB key the computer will be unlocked and will be ready to resume work exactly where it left off.

If you’re interested, I point out, as anticipated a few lines higher, that USB Raptor offers a number of advanced options accessible by checking the box next to the words Advanced configuration in the upper right part of the main window of the program. By doing so, you will see additional tabs appear in the USB Raptor window with several options that may be useful depending on what your personal needs are.

For example, there is the option to start USB Raptor with Windows, to password protect also access to the program’s graphical interface, to set a delay of 5 seconds before the PC is locked after removing the flash drive USB, to enable the unlocking of the computer only when connecting a specific USB flash drive etc.

Rohos Logon Key – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive

The resources I mentioned in the previous lines to block the PC with a USB drive have not convinced you in a particular way and are you looking for an alternative? So try taking a look at Rohos Logon Key and you’ll see that you will not regret it. This is a free program (but possibly available in a paid version with extra features) that, unlike the above solutions, allows you to set the Windows account password on a USB drive to automatically log in to the system when the pendrive is connected to the computer. The functioning is in short different from the software already mentioned but can still come back due to its characteristics. Now I’ll explain how to configure it.

First of all, connected to the Internet site of the program and click on the Download Now button that is at the top to immediately download Rohos Logon Key on your PC. When the download is complete, open the executable file obtained and click on Run and then press Yes and OK to set the use of the Italian language. Then click on Next and select the item I accept the terms of the license agreement and then click on Next again for three consecutive times, on Install and to finish the setup presses on Fine.

Now connect the USB drive you want to use to lock and unlock the PC to one of the USB ports of the computer and once the program window on the desktop is displayed, click on the button Set the USB drive.

In the other window that appears, type the password of your user account on Windows by filling in the appropriate field and then press the button Set USB drive. The next appearance of the notification The USB flash drive has been correctly configured! Now you can use it for Windows login and to unlock the desktop will confirm the successful configuration of the storage device.

So, from now on when you need to log in to Windows, instead of manually typing your password, just plug the pendrive into your computer and in a few seconds you will be logged in to the account automatically.

Keep in mind, however, that the fact of having configured the key to log in to Windows does not exclude that you can always log in with the traditional entry of the keyword. Know however that the Windows password stored on the USB stick is not visible, it can not be copied nor duplicated because all the data concerning it are encrypted with the AES-256 bit algorithm.

Alternative solutions for Mac – How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive

And what about the Mac side? Are there solutions similar to those seen in the previous lines to block a PC with a USB drive using the appropriate programs? Of analogous software unfortunately there does not seem to be, or however it is not of actually working, but this does not take away from the fact that there are no solutions to protect the computer alternative to the classic password and valid enough.

For example, you can lock and unlock the Mac with your iPhone, thanks to special applications (such as Unlox), or you can succeed in your intent with Apple Watch, taking advantage of the “standard” functions of the smart watch of the company of Cupertino and its computers. In both cases, the locking and unlocking procedure takes place via Bluetooth connection, whose LMP version of the relative module must necessarily be equal to or greater than 4.0.

For further details on the matter and to find out how to configure the Mac and your devices for the purpose in question, read my tutorial dedicated to how to unlock Mac and in the specific case of unlocking through Apple Watch also the dedicated support page attached to the site Official Apple Internet.

 

How to Lock and Unlock Your PC With USB Drive