On the other hand, many families use only one user account on a system, either because it is more comfortable or because they do not know how to do it in first place.

A portable application like AppAdmin provides basic protection in those cases. The application can be used to block applications from being executed in Windows. The process of adding files to the list of protected applications is intuitive.

Users simply need to click on Block which opens a file browser. They then select the file to block and from that moment on, it cannot be opened anymore.

Applications can be unblocked again by ticking a checkbox and selecting the unblock selected option. This unfortunately removes the application from the listing, which has the consequence that it needs to be added again at a later time using the file browser. Not very comfortable.

It also means that users who are allowed to access the blocked files need to open the program as well to unblock the applications.

This limits the application quite a bit. Still, it may prove to be useful to block applications in different user accounts. Then again, there are other ways to do that.

AppAdmin can be password protected, to prevent that other users unblock blocked applications.

The program uses the Registry to block those files in Windows, just like it is possible with Group Policy settings that are available in some editions of the Windows operating system.

AppAdmin has some usability issues that the developer should try to fix. Especially a history, or an easier option to unblock files would improve the usability by a mile.

The portable software is compatible with most versions of the Windows operating system, including Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Downloads are offered at the developer’s website.

Androsa FileProtector is a software to password protect files in the Windows operating system. It can be downloaded as a portable version or one that has to be installed on the computer system. Three different encryption algorithms can be selected to password protect the files including 256 bit AES encryption.

Using the software program is actually pretty straightforward. Files can be added by the file browser. The files that have been added can then be password protected in the next step. The FileProtector will then encrypt the selected files and change their file extension to .afp. That file extension is automatically assigned to the software if it was installed on the computer system. Portable users will have to assign it or select the program from a list if they want to decrypt protected files.

The software can also delete files securely by overwriting them a number of times. This is an important step as the original files will be deleted after the encrypted copy has been created. Androsa FileProtector will display a password prompt if the file is executed on the computer system.