There are times when you need to lock the keyboard and mouse of Windows. Yes, you can lock windows sessions by simply logging out from the user account but sometimes, you may need to lock the keyboard functions without logging out.

Some of the examples may be:

1. You are watching a movie on your laptop, suddenly one of the kids come from behind and starts hitting the keys at random.

2. You are using a shared computer in your office and there is a guy who knows the password of the system. You have to attend a phone call but can’t risk leaving the system open.

3. You are downloading something and logging out will pause the downloads. You want to leave your system for 30 minutes but fear that your kids may accidentally shutdown the computer.

In all these situations, you have to deactivate the keyboard and mouse from your system. Unplugging the keyboard and mouse cable is a solution but that’s not a good idea, because when you come back you have to plug it again.

You can use Kidkeylock – a simple utility that can lock mouse and keyboard in Windows. After the program is installed, run it and you will see something like the following:

Select the appropriate checkboxes for the mouse locks – you can lock all the three mouse buttons and the scrolling wheel as well.

There are two password fields – one for showing the program setup and another from quitting the application. When you want to lock the keyboard, simply hit OK and leave the program to do it’s job.

The mouse as well as the keyboard will not function – you can’t click anywhere and neither you can use the keyboard shortcuts.

To unlock the keyboard and mouse, type the password for showing the program setup. Once the setup loads, uncheck all the checkboxes and quit the application.

Relayed reading: How to resume Windows sessions using a USB stick

Techie Buzz Verdict

The program works perfectly in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows7. No drawbacks as such.

Techie Buzz rating: 4/5 (Excellent).