EXE Password Protector - Setting password protection

Eltima's EXE Password Protector offers dialog-based wizards that will guide you though every protection step. To protect your file, please, follow the simple steps below:

1. Start EXE Password Protector if it is not already running
2. Select Protect executable tab to start protection wizard

   

3. Welcome message displayed at the first window briefly describes protection steps. You may disable this message by ticking Do not show this welcome message again checkbox and it will not be displayed next time you open the protection wizard.

   

   Click button to proceed.

4. During the next step you have to specify executable file you want to protect. Please, note that only EXE files can be protected.

   

   You may type in the full path to the executable or click Browse button to invoke "Open file" dialog where you may select the file needed. Please, note that you may not select files that are already protected by EXE Password Protector or you will get an error. This is done to make sure that the password will not be maliciously overwritten. Additionally, if you would like to create backup of the original EXE file, you should enable corresponding option. You may find backup file in the same folder where your original executable is located with .BACKUP extension added. For instance, if you have selected "my_file.exe" to protect, the resulting backup file name will be "my_file.exe.backup". To restore executable from backup file, simply rename it by removing .BACKUP extension. In order to proceed, please, click button.

5. Next, type in the password you would like to protect your executable with and retype it in Confirm field to ensure that you haven't made any mistakes when typed. You may use passwords up to 50 characters long.

   

   Please, store your password in a safe place. If you have forgotten your password, the only way to restore your executable is to copy it from backup (in case you have created it). Once the password was typed click button to proceed.

6. Finally, you may see the progress bar and log messages to check if any error problems occurred

   

   To test the resulting executable file, please, click Test button. If it was successfully protected you may see the prompt where you should type your password:

   

   You may protect another file by clicking Protect another file button and start protection wizard again.

Please, note that EXE Password protector doesn't allow you to protect system-critical files that may damage your operating system. Additionally, you cannot protect some files (MSPaint, WMPlayer, etc) in Windows XP/2003 since it treats them specifically and if they are changed it restores them back.

EXE Password Protector is limited to 14 days trial period and allows you to protect up to 2 files.