A panic button or boss key application performs one or multiple actions when the button is activated. This usually includes hiding a window, but sometimes other things such as muting the volume.

The Google Chrome extension PanicButton adds the functionality to the Chrome browser. It basically allows you to hide all open Chrome tabs with a single click.

Here is how it works in detail. The extension adds a single button to the Chrome address bar upon installation. A left-click on the button hides all open tabs and displays a single blank tab instead in the browser interface. A second left-click loads the websites again so that you can continue using them. The extension saves the open tabs to bookmarks. This means that you may lose whatever you have been working on before you have clicked on the button.

A green icon with the number of saved tabs attached to it is displayed when the panic button has been activated.

New users should take a look at the options of the extension by right-clicking on the icon and selecting options from the context menu.

Here it is possible to set a password to protect tabs from being restored. Anyone could theoretically click on the button to recover tabs otherwise.

You can furthermore change the default keyboard shortcut from F4 to another combination. Please note that you can only use the shortcut on http or https pages. It wont work on blank or internal pages.

Safe pages, that is pages that are displayed when the panic button is activated, can be configured in the options as well. You can select to display new tab, empty or custom pages. Custom pages are websites that you need to enter. These are then loaded whenever the panic button is activated in the browser.

The hide panic button option finally hides the button once it has been activated. This removes the indication from Chrome’s toolbar.

Chrome users can download the PanicButton extension from the Google Chrome Extension repository.

That’s helpful for instance while visiting websites during work that are not work related. A click of the button displays a Word document, Excel spreadsheet or another window that looks work related.

This article lists the majority of free boss key applications available, each with a short summary of what they are offering. Only free programs and extensions have been considered for this list.

Windows Software

Blind Bosskey Lite – professional application that makes use of “hide-lists”. The user can add windows, process and executables to the hide list, to hide all selected items with a hotkey or a click on the system tray icon.

blindbosskey

BossKey – A 7K application which can create up to ten virtual desktops that are accessible via hotkeys.

clicky gone

Clicky Gone – Open Source software that is offered as a portable version and an installer. Can hide all or selected applications, lots of hotkeys and settings. May take a bit longer to get used to.

Dad’s Around, a portable solution that can minimize all windows by pressing a hotkey, silence the audio, blacken the screen and even kill the foreground process.

dads around

Don’t Panic – Requires initial configuration, namely applications that should be hidden when the panic button is clicked on or activated via hotkey. Offers additional features like clearing recent files and the Internet history.

Hide My Browser Free – has been specifically designed to hide web browser windows.

hide browsers list

Magic Boss Key

magic boss key

Has lots of options. Windows can be hidden by pressing the left and right mouse buttons at the same time, or by pressing F12. The application mutes the sound when the windows are hidden, and can furthermore hide all desktop icons and the taskbar if configured to do so.

Plancoin hides windows based on keywords, option to configure an exclude or include listing. Supports hotkeys.

VicMan Boss Key, commercial application that is now offered as freeware. Can hide the active window with a hotkey.

Window Hide Tool

windows hide tool

A sophisticated tool that can be configured extensively. It is for instance possible to group applications and set hotkeys for those groups, define system wide hotkeys or password protect the program so that it cannot be accessed without supplying the password first.

WinHide.SB – Can be used to hide specific windows from appearing in the taskbar and on the desktop. Supports hotkeys and controls via the system tray.

Web Browser

Boss Key and Buttons [Firefox] – Press F12 to minimize browser windows, or both mouse buttons for the same effect. Also available for Google Chrome

Minimize Chrome to tray.

minimize chrome

Simple Boss Key [Firefox] – Maps the F12 key to minimize the browser. Suggests to open a harmless site in the first tab, as this is shown in the taskbar. May interfere with other add-ons that have mapped the F12 key (like Firebug)

Panic Button [Firefox] – Adds a Panic Button to Firefox that can hide all windows, minimize all windows or quit the browser. Maps F9 to the panic button so that a press of the button will invoke it as well.

Panic Button [Userscript], works in both Firefox and Google Chrome. Displays a Panic button on every page, which when clicked on changes the site to a harmless one.

Work Folder – Not a boss key application per se. It is a gaming site that looks like a folder on the local hard drive.

Do you know additional boss key / panic button applications that have not been included in the list? Let us know in the comments so that we can add them to it.

Switching manually to a safe website takes time, even if it is open in another tab in the web browser. Even worse, the title of the page that you do not want to reveal is still shown on the screen.

Panic Button is a lightweight userscript that offers a safer and faster way of switching sites. The userscript is compatible with Firefox and Google Chrome, and displays a Panic button in the lower right corner of the screen after installation.

A click on that button instantly switches to a preconfigured website in the same tab, that is now showing the Panic button.

It is furthermore possible to press Ctrl+Shift+Q to activate the userscript so that the safe page is loaded. The final shortcut is Ctrl+Q which changes the visibility of the Panic button in the browser.

panic button

Firefox users can configure the add-on by editing the script in the browser. Here it is possible to define the button size, button position and website that should be opened when panic mode is activated.

Users with privacy concerns may also consider changing the locations of the panic button images, as they are by default pointing to the developers website. This means that the developer is theoretically able to see all pages that are accessed by a specific user of the extension.

Chrome users may need to download the userscript first, edit it locally before installing it for the same customization options.

The Panic Button script is available for installation and download at the Userscripts website. Users of the Windows operating system have lots of software alternatives, including Plancoin, WinHide or Hide Windows.

The button will reports abuse to the UK Child Exploitation and Online protection Centre (CEOP) and to Facebook administrators.

The move follows months of negotiations between CEOP and Facebook, who initially resisted the idea of installing a button, saying their existing protections were good enough.

Other social network sites used by children and teenagers, such as Bebo and MySpace, have had a panic button available for a while now.

CEOP is a UK government law enforcement agency that is tasked with tracking down online sex offenders.  Forty four police chiefs in the UK had signed a letter backing the organisation’s call for a button on every Facebook page.

Jim Gamble, Ceop’s chief executive, said in a statement: “Our dialogue with Facebook about adopting the ClickCeop button is well documented – today however is a good day for child protection.

“By adding this application, Facebook users will have direct access to all the services that sit behind our ClickCeop button which should provide reassurance to every parent with teenagers on the site.”

Facebook have said the addition of a button is in addition to their existing help and reporting features adding “Ultimately though, this makes for a safer environment for users and that’s the most important part.”

In addition to the panic button a joint Facebook / CEOP page is being set up with a range of topics and subject areas of interest to teenagers.

Dad’s Around is a panic button software that was created as a contribution to the Donation Coder NANY 2009 programming challenge. The software program is supplied in 7z format which means that a unpacker supporting that format is needed. The software itself is portable and can be run from any location without installation.

It provides access to four options that can be activated with the [Windows Z] key by default. The options can be configured by right-clicking the system tray icon after execution. The possibilities are to silence WAVE audio, kill the actual foreground process, minimize all windows and show a black screen. Each option can be activated or deactivated separately.

The hotkey can be changed as well in case it is interfering with existing hotkeys on the computer system. The program uses roughly 5 Megabytes of computer memory while running.

Update: The Panic button application is hotkey driven, which means that you need to press the hotkey when you want it to perform the configured actions. You can configure Dad’s Around to perform one, multiple or all of the actions. You need to press the hotkey again to return the system to its previous state. I’d suggest to use a hotkey that cannot be found that easily. Someone walking in on you might catch a glimpse of what your fingers press on the keyboard.

Make sure you check out or panic button alternatives. The Ultimate Boss Key / Panic Button Apps Listing offers a selection of boss key and panic button applications for web browsers and Windows.