Crawler Parental Control's easy-to-use application provides you with comprehensive control of user activity on your computer.

Crawler Parental Control gives you a holistic overview of your children's activity on your computer and allows you to individualize and restrict their actions and time spent at the computer. Amongst it's main features are Content Control, Time Control, Usage Logging and Email Notifications, Application Usage Restrictions and System Restrictions. If you're worried about them looking at your own personal data, you can hide content on your computer that you don't want them to see. If you're tired of them screwing up your PC with malicious programs, you can also prevent your children and other users of your computer from installing unwanted and potentially harmful software and uninstalling applications that you need to use. Most importantly however, you can have control over the content that they are viewing and specify keywords and dangerous content that you want it to look for. This includes porn sites or those that require credit card for unauthorized online shopping.

If you're looking for an easy to use, comprehensive protection system for your PC, then Parental Control ticks all the right boxes.

We've all been in that horrible scenario where an essential file has seemingly disappeared into thin air - either via accidental deletion or malware which has invaded your system.

First thing's first - this is no substitute for an anti-virus checker but it does offer you extra protection against the worst case scenarios in file deletion. It's mainly aimed at those that want to protect their files from kids or another unauthorised users that may purposely or accidentally delete files. Of course, if you are using Windows, I suggest the best way to do this is is to create an entirely new user profile for each person but if this is not possible, then this is an excellent alternative.

System Protect allows you to pick those files and folders that you want to protect such as important documents, your favorite music, vacation photos, movies etc. It's best used as an extension to your currently existing security suite. to keep your system stable and get automatic deletion alerts - a virus checker may inform you of a virus attack but it won't tell you whether the target is going to be deleted - System Protect will.

If you don't have much faith in your antivirus software or are worried about other users on your PC, then this is an excellent solution.

Sharing a PC is never a good idea if you've got sensitive or confidential information that you don't want strangers, or even loved ones, to access.

My favourite way to protect myself is simply to create another profile for other users on my system but this is not always possible if Windows isn't working properly. In which case, one good option is to lock those files and folders that you don't want accessed by prying eyes. System Vault simply can't hide files and folders but it can require users to enter a password before accessing them. It also allows you to remove common files or folders that are accessed from your MRU files on your PC so that anyone using your machine, can't see what you've just been looking at.

One word of warning though - if you install the program, uninstall it and then reinstall it again, your protected files are completely reset. This means that anyone that really wants to access your files merely has to uninstall the program so it's a good idea to use some kind of system protection system in addition to this program. However, the developers advise that to avoid losing your directories and files when re-installing the application in future you should export your list of paths and import them again on reinstallation.

A simple way to protect your files but be warned that it's not very secure any anyone who uninstalls it will have access to your files.

It often happens that we have to hide files or folders, especially when working on a shared computer. The most effective way to do it is by using a specific program.

Free Hide Folder is a free application that lets you select a list of folders you would like to keep protected. By clicking the Hide button in the main menu, all the selected folders will magically disappear on your computer. In order to have access to them you will have to pass through the program which has a pre-selected password to enter.

It's all very easy to use and actually effective if you have sensitive files to protect, but I have little issues on the usability side. It's not possible in fact to hide a folder just from the right-click menu; you will always have to pass through the Add function of the program. Again, if you want to see a folder that has been previously hidden, a double click on it in the program's window is not enough; you will have to select the right button in the right-click menu of the application.

The program installs icons in the Start menu, letting other users know you are hiding something, so maybe a combination of keys to launch the application would have been more effective. I suppose you can always delete the Start menu link but then you will not have direct access to your folders.

Free Hide Folder is a useful free tool to protect and hide sensitive folders on your computer. Some usability issues may render slightly annoying using it, but they don't affect its efficiency.

With more of us keeping sensitive data on our computers than ever before, the need to protect your data from the eyes of unwanted intruders is greater than ever. Of course, there are plenty of applications that allow you to encrypt your private data, but many of them come at a high price. Folder Vault is a relatively cheap alternative that blocks access to files, folders and archives through an interesting interface, which is completely styled around the theme of locking and protection.

Once installed, the program create a default protected folder called Folder Vault, to which any file on your PC can be added. One of the neat features of the software is that it can be run in Stealth mode, to avoid being detected and attacked. There are plenty of cool options locked within the app, such as the ability to auto-shutdown your machine after a designated number of failed password attempts. Handily the program includes a feature whereby once you enter a password, all of the files and folders within your protected folder become unblocked, saving you a lot of time.

I found the program was great for blocking files thanks to its powerful encryption algorithms. However, I was a little disappointed with the Hack Prevention and Automation modes, as these did not seem to work at all when I tried them.

Internet filtering and parental control software program, gives you the ability to control and monitor your child’s use of the Internet, irrespective of where you are: in the neighboring room, at work, or even on vacation, thus enabling you to protect your child from the dangers of the Internet.

Features of CyberSieve

• Filter harmful websites and newsgroups
• Restrict Internet time to a predetermined schedule
• Decide which programs can have internet access
• Limit the amount of data that can be sent or received to/from your computer
• Block e-mails, online chats, instant messages and P2P connections containing inappropriate words
• Set different levels of restrictions for every member of your family depending on their maturity, interests, habits, and parental control needs
• Monitor your child’s use of the Internet, irrespective of where you are; in the neighboring room, at work, or even on vacation.
• Get detailed Internet activity logs
• Comes provided with a huge built-in database

Protect your computer and restrict access to the Internet with Security Administrator. This nice password-protected security utility enables you to impose a variety of access restrictions to protect your privacy and stop others from tampering with your PC.

You can deny access to each individual component of several Control Panel applets, including Display, Network, Passwords, Printers, System and Internet Options. You can disable your boot keys, context menus, DOS windows, Registry editing, Internet and Network access. Hide your desktop icons, individual drives, Start menu items, or even the entire taskbar.

You can apply password protection to Windows and restrict users from running specific applications, view statistics of computer usage and security restrictions can be applied universally or to specific computer users.

The program can be used to restrict read or write access to removable media devices such as CD, DVD, floppy, flash and USB drives. You can also restrict access to partitions of hard disk drives. You are given two choices when you secure your data: you can hide your devices or lock access to them. Access password has to be entered to gain access to the devices back. This software will never endanger your protected data.

If you lose or forget your password, you'll never lose your data stored on the protected media. Moreover, it works much more faster than any other software using cryptooperation mechanisms. The main purpose of the program is to restrict an ability of copying data between removable media and hard disk drives. You can also deny access to the media itself. This program also allows you to avoid many of headaches connected with unauthorized software installations from any removable media and it prevents data leaks through removable media.

WinLock is a comprehensive security program for personal or publicly accessible computers running the Windows 95/98/Me or Windows NT/2000/XP operating system. It is a program that ensures that only authorized people can access sensitive information on your computer. With WinLock you can control how long others can use your computer. It runs from the Windows System Tray and requires a password to gain access to the available settings.

The program loads automatically with Windows and allows you to add an optional startup message, provide audio notification, and set the time limit. Once that limit is reached, Windows is summarily shut down. You can toggle the timer on and off from the tray. Whether you're worried about coworkers going on the network and gaining unauthorized access to your private files, or your kids messing up your work files, WinLock is a software-only solution to your security needs.

If you're worried about unauthorised access of your files but regularly share a PC, then one of the best ways to protect yourself is by encrypting your folders.

This might be a laborious and time consuming process if you've got lots of data to protect - as encryption can frequently take time - but it doesn't have to be too painful with Kaka Folder Protection. The program is fast and straightforward and once installed, you'll notice a "lockdir.exe" in your folders. Double click on this to run the program and it instantly asks you for a password to encrypt the folder. You can choose to encrypt either the current folder or an alternative folder of your choosing. The program would have been better if it installed itself directly into Windows Explorer shell and required a right click to activate but it's really no big drawback to double-click the .exe.

The developers claim that the program uses strong encryption technology although it doesn't reveal exactly what this is. This may cause some concern for those who are worried about the strength of the encryption. Once encrypted however, the good thing is that the folders are protected against illegal copying, deletion or adding extra files to. The program also adds a padlock symbol to protected folders so that users can immediately see what is protected and what isn't it - which is OK unless you're trying to protect files discreetly.

A simple and easy to use program that doesn't reveal what kind of encryption it uses but should be enough for most home users.

Watchman is the tool of choice for restraining access to applications and documents, and stopping users from messing around. This means you can prevent people using programs and files you want to remain protected.

Features:

• Protect windows, files, apps.
• Keep a log of used software.
• Warn users, notify them.
• Simple and productive interface.
• Wizard option to guide new users.

If you're ever worried about what's happening with your PC when you're not around then this is an ingenious solution.

If you've got a USB stick, dod you know you can use it for more than just portable storage? You can in fact use it to block people accessing your PC by installing USB PC Lock Pro and inserting it into any available USB port - nothing more. Once plugged in, it blocks everything from keyboard access to MSN Messenger messages and audio of any kind - so no need to worry about any embarrassing noises whilst you are away from the PC. Once installed on the stick, the upper part of the screen shows the main features such as the Presence and Security Status. Below this are a number of "Plugins" which you can enable separately depending on what you want blocked such as media player, messenger etc. Once set, the program sits in the system tray discreetly so that no one even knows its running.

If you're worried about leaving your PC for long periods of time and have a USB stick, this is an effective and simple solution although obviously, anyone who knows what it is can simply take it out and access whatever they want to.

Universal Shield encrypts and hides files, folders, or entire drives. Protected items are completely invisible until the password is supplied. Protection remains in place even when the drive is removed and placed in a different computer.

The program will optionally run in a hotkey-activated stealth mode, leaving no evidence that anything is hidden. In addition it can restrict access to such system elements as Control Panel, My Documents, and the system time.

We've all had embarrassing moments where the boss walks by and we're looking at something we shouldn't be.

Magic Boss key immediately cleans your desktop, taskbar and any other program or folder that you may have open at any one time. You can do this without even touching your keyboard. By clicking with the two mouse buttons at the same time you can remove all open windows, including Magic Boss. There's no real noticeable difference in the performance of your PC whilst Magic Boss is working although if you're running a lot of applications at one time, you might find that Boss Key does not kick in as soon as you'd like it to. In which case, the boss will see both what you're looking at plus see that you've got Boss Key installed so you're running a bit of a risk. The one thing it does not do as well is remove icons in the system tray so make sure you've got nothing dodgy running that shows up there.

This is one easy way to beat the boss although don't rely on it if you've got lots of applications running at once.

If you're worried about security on your VPN network, then OpenVPN is a fully-featured SSL VPN solution which can accommodate a wide range of configurations, including remote access, site-to-site VPNs, WiFi security, and enterprise size solutions.

The focus of this program is security. OpenVPN provides many options for controlling the security of the VPN client but it also provides options for protecting the security of the server itself. The big advantage is that it's a cross-platform app so it doesn't what matter which type of computer the users are using and it offers excellent stability and scalability for hundreds or even thousands of clients. Installation is also simple and it supports both dynamic IP addresses and NAT. The developers claim that they have worked hard to make it responsive in terms of both normal operation and error recovery. What I liked most is that if it drops the connection, within 5 minutes it will reconnect although this is rather too long for my liking. If you could reduce this to just a few seconds, it would be much more useful as no one wants to hang around 5 minutes for their VPN to connect again.

A simple and secure client that offers users across all platforms a free and powerful VPN solution.

The developers of iNet Protector make the rather vague and ambitious claim that their program is the world's number one tool for controlling Internet access. Whether or not this is true, it's certainly a decent application which easily gives you more control over who or what is accessing the internet on your PC.

With iNet Protector you can restrict internet access at specified times or on demand. A more general solution is to add password protection to your connection. If you're still surfing on a modem or are worried about how much time the kids are spending online, the timer feature allows you to disable your Internet connection after a specified period of time.

Alternatively, if you don't want people surfing on your PC but don't mind them sending e-mail, you can limit which programs have access to the internet. This is particularly useful for employers who are worried about employees spending too much time surfing the net.

This is a simple but effective program which as a basic solution, works very well. It's well presented with an easy to use interface. There's not much to fault it except the fact that anyone with a bit of network experience would probably be able to circumvent or disable it.

Hide Folders XP is a simple but ingenious program for Microsoft Windows XP and 2000 users. Every day we trust our personal files to a computer. Who knows how many people will want to get access to them? If you share your computer with co-workers, children, spouse or your computer is always connected to the Internet, your private files are under threat of being revealed.

With Hide Folders XP you can easily protect any number of folders and files on your computer. You can select any file or folder to protect from the program, drag-and-drop them from Windows Explorer into the Hide Folders XP window or just right click mouse button on a file or folder in Explorer and select "Hide & Lock with Hide Folders XP" from the drop-down menu.

Lock My PC is an easy to use and compact tool for quick computer locking when you leave it unattended. It shows a lock screen, disables Windows hot keys and the mouse. You can lock your PC with a hotkey or from the system tray. To unlock the computer you must enter correct password only. The program can log invalid password entry attempts and has option to keep your PC locked even if power failure occurs or someone switches it off and on.

Bugged by ads and popups? Halt! lets you create your own list of sites that you want to block and specifies categories with your own blocking rules. After installation, the Halt! control center has 3 main frames. The left frame will list sites with their categories. The top right frame will list categories. The Bottom right frame will set schedules.

You can start by adding a category such as "$$$", add a description such as "High Risk Gambling" and you've thus set the blocking rule for this category "Always" and a date when this rule should expire. The next column is called 'Change'. This is the time delay which will be applied to this category if you decide to change the blocking rules, or if you amend a sites category. So if you set Change to "one month", and later decide to change the blocking rule from Always to schedule it will take 1 month to apply the rule change.

Halt! was written to help people with an addiction to internet gambling. So it has been designed to be difficult to disable or uninstall. A password (entered during installation) is required to stop or uninstall this program. However, this is all very well but if you forget the password, you're going to find it very hard to get rid of.

This is a great program for anyone that's fighting online gambling although whatever you do, don't lose the installation password.

CD-DVD Lock is intended for restricting read or write access to removable media devices such as CD, DVD, floppy and flash, as well as for restricting access to certain partitions of hard disk drives. You can restrict access by two ways: hide your devices from viewing or lock access to them. You can gain access to your devices back by entering a valid password that only you know. Your data on your media are not going to be encrypted or altered in any way, therefore if you forget your password, you'll never lose your data stored on the protected media.

Moreover, it works more faster than any other software using cryptooperation mechanisms. The main purpose of the program is to restrict an ability of copying data between removable media and hard disk drives as well as deny access to media itself. CD-DVD Lock will allow you avoid many of headaches connected with unauthorized software installations from any removable media, and also prevent data leak by removable media.