DeskLock

DeskLock is a very simple-to-use application that gives you the possibility to create a list of programs to immediately launch, close or hide. It offers support for password protection and hotkeys, and it comes equipped with intuitive options.

Speedy setup and systray accessibility

The setup procedure is a fast and easy job that shouldn't give you any trouble. Although this isn't indicated via a balloon message, it creates an icon in the system tray area at startup and sits there silently when you're not using it, so it doesn't interfere with your regular PC activities.

Change the access key and add programs

You can get started by changing the default program password ("2") into something else. This key is required every time you want to configure with its settings.
DeskLock shows a default program in the list to give you an idea of how it works. However, you can remove it and add as many new apps as you want, since all you have to to do it track down their executable file via the file browser.

Assign keyboard shortcuts and control apps

Any entry can be removed from the list if you change your mind. Moreover, you can ask DeskLock to hide the program's window when minimized, assign a hotkey for bringing it up on the screen, and adjust the frame's transparency level. It can be asked to automatically run at every Windows startup until further notice.
Once you have prepared your list of applications, you can view all of them in DeskLock's icon in the system tray, call them on the screen by triggering their corresponding keyboard shortcuts, as well as show, hide or close a specific program (or all of them) with just one click.

Evaluation and conclusion

We haven't come across any problems in our tests, thanks to the fact that it didn't hang, crash or prompt error notifications. Although it hasn't been updated for a long time, the tool works smoothly on newer Windows versions. Unsurprisingly, CPU and RAM usage was minimal during its runtime.
To sum it up, DeskLock proves to be a straightforward and capable utility for easily controlling other installed (or portable) applications through the system tray or hotkeys, and it can be seamlessly handled by anyone.