DeskWarden v1.1.0 · Free & Open Source

Lock any app.
Just like your phone,
but for Windows.

DeskWarden freezes any .exe the moment it opens — browsers, games, tools, anything. No subscriptions, no account, no cloud. Install it once and it just works.

Windows Download for Windows GitHub View on GitHub
Windows 10 / 11 MIT Licensed No install knowledge needed
🌐
Google Chrome
🗡️
Stellar Blade
⊞
🔍 📁
10:24 AM
DeskWarden ✕
🌐
Google Chrome
Authentication required
Enter master password Show
Press Enter ↵
SHA-256 Encrypted
DeskWarden ✕
🗡️
Stellar Blade
Permanently blocked
Access Denied
This application is permanently blocked.
Change the mode in Control Panel to unblock.
Permanent Restriction · DeskWarden
🔒 deskwarden.com
A faithful preview of DeskWarden's real lock screen — not a mockup
Try it yourself
The problem

Windows never gave you this

Phones let you lock any app in two taps. Windows has nothing built in — and most third-party tools either cost money, need technical setup, or just hide a window instead of truly blocking it.

🧊

Kernel-level freeze

The process is actually suspended — not hidden, not minimized. It cannot open until unlocked.

🖱️

Zero setup

One double-click installer. No Python knowledge, no config files, no command line.

🪶

Genuinely lightweight

No Electron, no heavy runtime sitting in your taskbar eating RAM in the background.

🆓

Free, forever

No subscription, no account, no telemetry. Open source under the MIT license.

What it can do

Real control, built into DeskWarden

Every app you protect gets its own rules — set once, enforced every time.

🔁

Four lock modes

Ask Always, Session Once, Always Block, or None — switch any app's behavior anytime.

🖥️

Fullscreen lock screen

Clean and unbypassable. Appears in under a second, every single time.

🚫

Three strikes and it's terminated

Three failed attempts and the app is terminated — no way to sneak around it.

🔐

SHA-256 hashing

Your master password is never stored in plain text, anywhere on disk.

💾

Backup & restore

Export your entire setup and bring it back after a reinstall in seconds.

📋

Security log

Every unlock and every failed attempt, timestamped and easy to review.

More features on GitHub →
Interface preview

Looks the part of security software

A Control Panel that feels structured, and a lock screen that feels final.

Ready to take control?

Extract the zip, right-click install_deskwarden.bat, and run as administrator. DeskWarden installs Python if needed, sets itself up, and starts automatically.

Requires Windows 10/11 (64-bit) · Python 3.10+ installed automatically
Verify download (SHA-256)
Verify on the GitHub release page
Latest Version Download DeskWarden-v1.1.0.zip · ~852 KB
View All Versions On GitHub
Behind DeskWarden

Built by one developer, in the open

Tahasinur Rahman Muntasir

Tahasinur Rahman Muntasir

@muntasir018

Independent developer building practical Windows tools — DeskWarden started from wanting the same app-locking control on a PC that phones have had for years.

GitHub Profile Source Code

Found a bug, or have an idea?

DeskWarden is open source — issues, feature requests, and contributions all happen right on GitHub.

🐛 Report an Issue 💬 Start a Discussion