WorkStation Lock Version 2.4
WorkStation Lock, Version 2.4, 1997

WorkStation Lock provides a simple and inexpensive, but effective way to password protect your system at startup or quickly from a desktop shortcut without involving a screen saver.  It is easy to configure and requires no modifications to your current system configuration.  Administrator functions are enabled for site licenses.

Registration

Order Form

Installation

Setting up WorkStation Lock (wrkset.exe)

Admin

Set Admin Password

Change User Password

Remote Update

Register

Register

Running WorkStation Lock (wrklock.exe)

Command Line options for wrklock.exe

To Insure Proper Security

Our other products


Installation

To Install WorkStation Lock:

If you used the release that includes the InstallShield installation program then you have already installed the product correctly.  If not then you must install WorkStation Lock manually.  Simply copy the files wrklock.exe, wrklock.hlp, lockctrl.exe, scrblnk.exe, and wrkset.exe to the Windows directory (c:\windows, etc.) or another directory of your choice.

If you would like a release with the installation program, visit our web page at http://posum.com.

To Configure WorkStation Lock:

To configure WorkStation Lock, use the setup program, wrkset.exe , to define your password and the administrator password if you have registered a site license.  If you wish to configure WorkStation Lock to execute as soon as windows starts, follow the steps in the security section.  You can also define a shortcut on your desktop to execute wrklock.exe so you may quickly lock your desktop without having to shut anything down.  You can also use the command line options to activate wrklock.exe after a specified period of system inactivity or from the system tray.  Once these steps are complete, reboot and you are ready.

To Remove WorkStation Lock:

If for some reason you wish to remove WorkStation Lock from your system just reverse the steps you took to install it.  First make sure wrklock.exe is not running.  Then remove the files you copied to the Windows directory or from the installation directory specified during your installation process.  Finally, undo the method you used to get wrklock.exe to execute on Windows startup.  This must be done manually to prevent any security holes.

System Requirements:  Windows 95 or NT.


Setting up WorkStation Lock (wrkset.exe)

The WorkStation Lock Setup dialog defines or changes the password that allows users to dismiss the protection dialog that locks the system.

Old Password:  This field accepts the current password, if one exists, prior to a change.

New Password:  This field accepts the new or changed password.

Confirm:  This field accepts the new password again as a confirmation that it was typed correctly.

OK:  This button saves the changes and dismisses the dialog.

Cancel:  This button dismisses the dialog and does not save the changes.

Dialog Menu:

File

Close:  Dismisses the dialog (the same as Cancel)

Admin

Set Admin Password: This brings up the Admin Password  dialog.

Change User Password: This brings up the Change User Password dialog.

Remote Update: This brings up the Remote Update dialog.

Save User Password to file: Saves the user password to a file.

Save Admin Password to file: Saves the Admin password to a file.

Register

Register...:  Displays the Registration dialog.

Help

Help...:  Displays this help file.

About WorkStation Lock...:  Displays the About dialog.


Running WorkStation Lock (wrklock.exe)

When wrklock.exe is executed the Protection Dialog will appear and trap the cursor to the dialog.  This dialog will retain the focus and disable CTRL+ALT+DEL and ALT+TAB until the proper password is entered.  When the proper password is entered CTRL+ALT+DEL and ALT+TAB will be enabled again.

If you wish this dialog to only appear after a period of system inactivity, a command line option is available for this.  Using this option will also make the dialog accessible from an icon in the system tray.

Password:  This field accepts the password defined using WorkStation Lock Setup (wrkset.exe).

OK:  This button accepts the password.


To Insure Proper Security

- Create a shortcut on your desktop to wrklock.exe.  This will allow you to quickly lock your desktop without having to shut anything down and at the same time prevent others from accessing anything on your system.

- Configure WorkStation Lock (wrklock.exe) so that it executes as soon as Windows starts.  There are three alternatives to starting WorkStation Lock as Windows starts up.  Each one is more secure than the previous one.

An executable named lockctrl.exe is provided with WorkStation Lock.  This executable should be used to start wrklock.exe at Windows startup to insure greater security.  The syntax for using this executable is detailed below.  The use of lockctrl.exe is not required when defining a shortcut on your desktop.

The function of lockctrl.exe is to disable CTRL+ALT+DEL and then load the program specified on the command line, wrklock.exe.  If you run lockctrl.exe without a command line argument, it will simply disable CTRL+ALT+DEL and exit.  To enable CTRL+ALT+DEL, you will have to run wrklock.exe and exit with the password or reboot.

1) Place the programs lockctrl.exe and wrklock.exe in your startup group so that they executes as soon as Windows starts.  This is the simplest but it is also the easiest for someone to get around.

To execute wrklock at startup, the following command line should be used in the definition of the shortcut.  The use of lockctrl.exe is not required for a desktop shortcut, only at startup.

c:\windows\lockctrl.exe c:\windows\wrklock.exe

This assumes that you placed wrklock.exe and lockctrl.exe in c:\windows.  Simply change the paths to where you placed these executables and you're set.

2) Add the following to the bottom of you autoexec.bat file

win c:\windows\lockctrl.exe c:\windows\wrklock.exe

This will execute wrklock.exe as soon as Windows comes up without wrklock.exe being in your startup group. This assumes that you placed lockctrl.exe and wrklock.exe in c:\windows.  Simply change the paths to where you placed the executables and you're set.  Only one of these lines can exist in your autoexec.bat.

3) Add WorkStation Lock  to your registry.  This assumes you have access to the Registry Editor.

To Add wrklock.exe to the registry for Windows 95, do the following.

1) Run the Windows 95 registry editor and go to the following entry: My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

2) Add a name here (in Run) called "wrklock". If Run is not present (as a key) under CurrentVersion, then you can safely add it there.

3) Add a data entry for the value which is the full path to where lockctrl.exe and wrklock.exe are installed.  Assuming they are installed in c:\windows, it should be “c:\windows\lockctrl.exe c:\windows\wrklock.exe"   The quotes will be added automatically if needed so you do not need to type them.

4) Exit the registry editor.

- If you have a system with highly sensitive data and/or that is prone to be tampered with by “hackers”, then WorkStation Lock should only be part of the security measures you take.  To protect against tampering through system reboots, a BIOS password or similar boot password utility can be utilized.  To protect against a safe-mode reboot without a reboot password here is an alternative.

Windows 95 creates a hidden, read-only system file named MSDOS.SYS in the root of the computer’s boot drive (usually c:).  Change the properties on this file and edit it to change or add the following in the [OPTIONS] section to increase security.  These values are Boolean with a value of 1 (enabled) or 0 (disabled).

BootGUI=0 : This will disable automatic graphical startup into Windows 95.

BootKeys=0 : This will prevent any startup keys (F5, F6, and F8) from functioning.

BootFailSafe=0 : This will disable Safe Mode for system startup.

This will prevent a safe-mode reboot.   DISABLED SAFE-MODE WARNING: Make sure you have a reboot floppy available in case you need to correct any problems that may be encountered in the future.

- For additional security try Windows Enforcer and Windows Task-Lock.  Windows Enforcer and Windows Task-Lock can be found on our web page at http://posum.com.


Registration

If you use an unregistered WorkStation Lock you will notice that every time you accept a password on the Protection Dialog, a box appears indicating you are unregistered and it displays the password you entered using the WorkStation Lock Setup Dialog .  When you send in your registration, I will return you a registration number that you will enter on the registration dialog of the WorkStation Lock Setup Dialog.  This dialog can be reached from the menu of the setup dialog.  This will register the software and you will no longer get the annoying box that displays your password.

WorkStation Lock is Shareware (see the Legal Stuff below).  If you feel that this software will be useful to you, please print the order form (follow this link), fill it out and send it along with your registration fee or credit card information to the following address.

Posum LLC

PO Box 21015

Huntsville, AL 35824

USA

For secure online ordering, a fax number and the latest ordering information, visit our web site at: http://posum.com.

If you are paying with a check or money order it must be in US dollars on a US or Canadian bank, payable to: Posum, LLC.

Site licenses are available at a discount. If you are interested in a site license just send us the number of systems you require licenses for and we’ll quote you a price.  You can contact us at order@posum.com.

For CompuServe users!!  WorkStation Lock can now be registered online through SWREG.  Simply GO SWREG and follow the instructions.  The registration ID for WorkStation Lock is 11196.  Due to the CompuServe pricing structure, only single user licenses can be  registered online and each license is $10 (US).  Anyone interested in a site license registration should contact us through email at order@posum.com.

Please report any bugs, suggestions for improvement or new features you would like to see.  We can be reached through email at support@posum.com or at our web site at http://posum.com.

- Version 1.0

- Initial Release

- Version 1.1

- Corrected a bug that allowed CNTRL+ATL+DEL to terminate the protection

   dialog

- Version 1.2

- Corrected a bug that allowed the ESC key to terminate the program

- Version 1.3

- Corrected a shutdown bug.

- Version 2.0

- Administrator password addition for site administration

              and menu added on setup.

- Version 2.1

- Corrected a bug that allowed shutdown during error dialog.

- Version 2.2

- Added some administrator functionality and disabled CTRL+ALT+DEL

  and ALT+TAB when the dialog is displayed.

- Version 2.3

- Added three command line options.  One to allow CTRL+ALT+DEL if

  necessary, another to activate the dialog after a specified

  period of system inactivity, and one to blank the screen behind

  the dialog.  The security for the passwords has also been enhanced.

- Version 2.4

- Modified the wrklock.exe dialog to change positions periodically and the

   Remote Update capability was added for site licenses.

LEGAL STUFF:

DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual.

Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.

DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT

Users of WorkStation Lock must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "WorkStation Lock is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of WorkStation Lock."

WorkStation Lock is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation.  Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system.  The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products.  If you find this program useful, you must make a registration payment of $5 to Posum LLC.  The $5 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time.  You must treat this software just like a book.  An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time.

Commercial users of WorkStation Lock must register and pay for their copies of WorkStation Lock as a site-license.  Registration for sites will be handled on a case by case basis.

Anyone distributing WorkStation Lock for any kind of remuneration must first contact Posum LLC at the address given for authorization.

You are encouraged to pass a copy of WorkStation Lock along to your friends for evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it.  All registered users will receive a registration number to fully enable the latest version of the WorkStation Lock software.

This software may be freely distributed as long as the following files are all kept together and unmodified and no remuneration is received by the person or persons distributing said software.

wrkset.exe

wrklock.hlp

wrklock.exe

lockctrl.exe

scrblnk.exe

readme.txt

Copyright (c) 1996, 1997  Posum LLC          http://posum.com


Set Admin Password

The Administrator Password dialog defines or changes the password that allows an administrator to dismiss the protection dialog that locks the system.  This feature is only available when a site license has been registered.  It is not active for a single system registration.

Old Admin Password:  This field accepts the current administrator password, if one exists, prior to a change.

New Admin Password:  This field accepts the new or changed administrator password.

Confirm:  This field accepts the new administrator password again as a confirmation that it was typed correctly.

OK:  This button saves the change to the admin password on the local system and dismisses the dialog.

Cancel:  This button dismisses the dialog and does not save the changes to admin password on the local system.


Posum's order form
Posum’s order form

Please print the following order form, fill it out and send it along with your registration fee or credit card information to the following address.  We accept US and international credit card orders.

Posum LLC

PO Box 21015

Huntsville, AL 35824

USA

For secure online ordering, a fax number and the latest ordering information visit out web site at http://posum.com

Last Name: _____________________First Name: __________________MI:_______

Address 1:____________________________________________________________

Address 2:____________________________________________________________

City: __________________________State or Province:________________________

Country: _______________________Zip (postal) code:________________________

Complete Phone No.:___________________________________________________

Email address:_________________________________________________________

Payment method:

___Check or money order (must be in US dollars on a US or Canadian bank;

        payable to Posum, LLC)

___ VISA, ___Master Card, ___American Express, ___Diner's Club,____ Discover

Card Number:________________________________ Expiration Date:____________

I agree for the merchant, Posum, LLC, to charge the amount listed below to my card.

_________________________________________________________

Signature of card holder

Select the Desired Product(s) (costs are in US dollars)

Windows 95/NT products	Cost	Quantity	Amount
___ Windows Task-Lock  (single system)	$9.95	______	______
___ Windows Enforcer  (single system)	$9.95	______	______
___ Task-Lock Lite  (single system)	$5.00	______	______
___ WorkStation Lock  (single system)	$5.00	______	______
___ Execute Screen Saver Utility  (single system)	$5.00	______	______
Special order description
______________________________________
______________________________________	______	______	______
		Total:	______


Change User Password

The Change User Password dialog changes the password that allows users access to the system.  This will allow administrators to change a user’s passwords without having to know their current ones.  This function requires the Admin Password so they are only available to site license registrations.

Admin Password:  This field accepts the current Admin Password.

New Password:  This field accepts the changed password.

Confirm:  This field accepts the new password again as a confirmation that it was typed correctly.

OK:  This button saves the change to the user password on the local system and dismisses the dialog.

Cancel:  This button dismisses the dialog and does not save the changes to the user password on the local system.


Command Line Options for wrklock.exe

Command line options are provided to activate the dialog after a user determined period of system inactivity, to blank the screen behind the dialog, or to allow CTRL+ALT+DEL when the dialog is displayed.  When an inactive delay is chosen, a lock icon will appear in the system tray.  This will allow the user to activate the dialog whenever necessary.

To specify more than one option, combine them into a single argument: -cbd10

These must be no spaces in a series of combined command line arguments.

-d# : Specify this option to activate the dialog after # (delay in minutes) minutes of system inactivity.  If you activate the dialog via the system tray icon and then dismiss it, or dismiss the dialog with the password after it is activated by the delay, your specified delay will be in effect again.

If you wish to simply activate the dialog when desired from the system tray just specify a large number for the delay.  A good number would be 2000 since this is more minutes than there is in an entire day.

To stop the execution of wrklock.exe when the delay is chosen, simply type in the password, DO NOT press ENTER or OK, and then choose the X box or the close on the dialog's system menu.  When wrklock.exe is run with no command line options, an ENTER or OK will stop execution.

-i : Specify this option if you wish the dialog to appear as soon as it is executed and then slip into the inactivity delay mode.  You must combine this with the inactivity delay option (d#) for it to have any effect.  You may also combine it with any other options you desire.  When wrklock.exe is executed with the -id# command line option, the dialog will display as wrklock.exe is executed and then after a successful password, fall into the inactivity delay mode.

-c : Specify this option to allow CTRL+ALT+DEL when the dialog is displayed.

-b : Specify this option when you wish to blank out the screen before the WorkStation Lock dialog is displayed.  This will hide what you are doing when the system is locked.

-s : Specify this option if you wish the WorkStation Lock dialog to always display in the center of your screen.  This option will disable the automatic, random movement of the dialog.

Examples:

wrklock.exe -d10

This will place an icon in the system tray and activate the dialog after 10 minutes of system inactivity.

wrklock.exe -bd15

This will place an icon in the system tray and activate the dialog after 15 minutes of system inactivity and blank the screen whenever the dialog locks the system.

If you need to specify command line arguments in the startup menu or in a shortcut then you must specify the command line as follows on the shortcut tab of the properties dialog..

The trick is to enclose the program name and path in double quotes and place the command line arguments outside the quotes.  An example is:

"C:\Program Files\Posum\WorkStation Lock\WRKLOCK.EXE” -d10


Remote Update

The Remote Update dialog allows the administrator to set the remote locations and file names to be used to update the local user password and/or the local administrator password when wrklock.exe is executed..  This function is only available for site licenses and the admin password must have been previously defined locally to use this functionality.

The remote update functionality works as follows.  The administrator will use this form to define a path and filename of a remote file or files, usually on a networked system, that contain new user and admin passwords.  This allows the passwords to be changed easily on multiple systems without having to visit each system individually.  When the administrator fills this form out and accepts it with an OK, the file locations and the current administrator password will be saved on the local system.  To only update a single local password, simply leave the other one blank.  The referenced files do not have to exist and ideally they should really only be available for the time it takes to perform the update to minimize any security risk.  This first step is done using wrkset.exe.

The wrkset.exe executable is also used to create the files that will be placed in the remote location.  The Save User Password to file and the Save Admin Password to file options on the Admin menu can be used to create these files.

When wrklock.exe executes, it will check for the existence of these remote update settings.  If it does not find any then it will continue normally.  If it does detect the remote update settings, it will check the local admin password against the one stored with the remote update settings.  If they match then it will read the remote update settings.  This insures that someone other than the real administrator did not generate these settings to breach the security.  When the remote file locations and names are read, wrklock.exe will attempt to read them.  The successfully read remote password files will be used to update the appropriate passwords.  The wrklock.exe executable will then continue normally with the new passwords.

When this dialog first appears the two remote password file location fields will be disabled.  To enable these fields, enter the local admin password in the Admin Password field.  Once the proper Admin password has been entered, the two fields will become enabled and display the current file locations.

You may define remote paths and filenames for either the user password and the admin password or both.  Only the ones that have been defined will be used.


Our other products

You can see all the latest releases of our products and get the latest ordering information on our website at http://posum.com.  We now accept credit card orders by fax, postal mail, or on our secure online ordering page.

For Windows 95/NT....

Windows Task-Lock, sgllock.zip, provides a simple, but effective way to password protect specified applications no matter how they are executed. It is easy to configure and requires little to no modifications to your current system configuration.  Optional Sound events, stealth mode, and password timeout now included.  Administrator password enabled for site licenses.  OnLine help is provided.

Task-Lock Lite, tasklite.zip, is the little brother of Windows Task-Lock.  It also provides a simple and inexpensive, but effective way to password protect specified applications no matter how they are executed. It is easy to configure and requires little to no modifications to your current system configuration.  OnLine help is provided but the more advanced options are not included.  The bonus is that it is less expensive.

Windows Enforcer, enforcer.zip, protects systems that are accessible to many people and require a consistent configuration and a consistent, limited selection of services such as public displays or computer labs.  It is also great for child-proofing individual systems.  This is accomplished by insuring that user specified tasks either never run, always run, or are allowed to run.  It is easy to configure and requires little to no modifications to your current system configuration.  Optional user specified sounds for the startup and access denied events are also available.  OnLine help is provided.

Execute Screen Saver Utility, execute.zip, allows you to configure your favorite screen saver to not only save your screen and entertain you, but to perform whatever useful tasks you desire.  Now you can execute multiple programs when your screen saver is activated.  This means your screen saver event can execute a security program, system utility, or any other programs of your choice.

For Windows 3.1....

Windows Multi-Lock, mltlck12.zip, is a simple multi-user passwording utility for Windows itself and applications executed from Windows, both DOS and Windows applications.  A single administrator user is allowed to insure secure access of a single system for multiple users with different privileges.  This utility is simple to setup and use and has detailed online Windows help.

Windows Lock, wdwlck22.zip, provides a simple and inexpensive, but effective way to lock a PC quickly, password protect specified applications, or password protect entry into Windows.  Online help is provided.