How To Lock And Unlock Your PC Using USB Pen Drive

The age old password protection is history. Now you can use a key to unlock your PC for  better security. There’re a lot of tools available online, which can convert your pen drive into a locking and unlocking key for your computer. Today, we’re going to talk about one such program: Predator.

No we’re not talking about some virus or ransomware, but something rather more useful. Predator is a free Windows software that turns your USB flash drive into a key that locks your computer when it’s removed. You can plug it in to unlock the computer, same as secret agents. It is easier for you to lock and unlock your PC using pen drive as you won’t have to undergo the hectic procedure of resetting. All you have to do is follow these easy steps to power your pen drive:

1. Download and install Predator tool.
2. Launch Predator and plug in the USB flash drive. Be informed that none of the content of your drive will be damaged or manipulated.
3. As soon as you plug the drive in, a dialogue box appears asking to create password, enter the desired password for unlock purpose.
4. You can create a unique ‘New Password’ by going into Preferences option. You can unlock your computer by using this password if you lose the drive.
5. You may check the Always Required box and you’ll be asked to enter the password each time you use your pen drive to unlock your PC.
6. Finally, in the section under Flash Drives, make sure that the correct USB flash drive is selected. Once done, click “Create key” followed by OK.
7. Once Predator is closed. Click the Predator icon in the taskbar to relaunch the program. A few seconds later, the icon turns green, alerting you that Predator is running.

Predator will check to see that your USB drive is plugged-in in every 30 seconds. If it isn’t, your computer turns dim and locks down.

It’s this easy to lock and unlock your PC using USB pen drive. However, in case you do not have any free USB ports, you can get a USB hub. You can pause Predator any time from the taskbar and if someone tries to access your machine, you can see it from the activity log. This tool certainly give you the power to control and limit the access of your machine from people around you.