Game Protector

When you’re a parent it can be hard to keep the kids away from the PC or each other from ruining save game files. For this reason and countless absurd ones, Game Protector was created. It’s a lightweight tool that enables you to password protect games and apps that you have on your computer.

Game Protector comes as an intuitive and easy to use tool that should fit the basic needs of those who want to lock games and apps under custom passwords.

From the tools’ main window you can easily access all that it has to offer. To protect a game all you need to do is enter or locate the .exe path, set a password, choose a custom icon and rename the file (if you want to) and then click ‘Protect’.

It’s that simple and anyone with basic computer skills can use it. On the downside it doesn’t come with a log or manager that stores information for all the games you protect. You’ll just have to find out accidentally or manually by running the .exe file and seeing if it prompts you for a password.

Development for Game Protector seems to have been halted since 2008 so there’s a big question to ask: will it ruin newer game files? The answer is yes.

You need to be really careful with Game Protector because as far as protection/lock-down software goes, this one might do you and others more harm than good. For example, protecting a game will work just fine but opting to unprotect it has serious chances to fail. It’s happened with the first one we tried. Even after uninstalling the app the game remained locked. In another instance, locking the game worked but after unlocking the launcher failed to run.

It’s vital to keep in mind that methods for compiling and file structures have evolved considerably since Game Protector was last updated and it simply might not do the job correctly. The app offers a backup feature but by all means, if you choose to use Game Protector, be sure to also create your own backups.

On a closing note, Game Protector will do its job in applying password protection for games. What it can’t guarantee is that they will work correctly afterwards. Moreover, Game Protector might interfere with the auto-update feature of games.