4 ms·

Show HN: Forgot to lock your PC? Use Lockfy

2 points by adelzu 3y ago

adelzu 3y ago
Hello HN! Did you lock your PC the last time you walked away? We all forget, even i do, and i worked at Microsoft for 5 years and thought i would never. This is why we built Lockfy. It helps you maintain a better PC hygene by reminding you to lock your PC if you forgot to lock it. And allowing you to lock it from anywhere around the world. In addition to shutdown, reboot and some nice features. Try Lockfy for free, and we would love to hear your feedback on support@lockfy.io Thanks Adel | Founder & CEO
yuppie_scum 3y ago
Wouldn’t it be a lot simpler and cheaper to set up auto locking via the OS settings?
- bradknowles 3y ago
  Maybe using a device like a smartwatch or a smartphone to help you automatically lock it when you leave the vicinity?
  - adelzu 3y ago
    That does work with some compatible devices, but it's not enough. As long as Bluetooth is connected, it will not lock. and if it disconnects for any reason (even if it is because of interference) It will just lock even if you are using the PC. Lockfy gives you piece of mind by letting you know the status (Locked/Unlocked). And gives you control, by allowing you to take actions.
- adelzu 3y ago
  Unfortunately, that fails more than you think. A youtube video running, a video ad playing silently, a video driver issue, a reboot pending notification from the OS. all of these and way more could prevent your OS settings from kicking in. This also applies to enterprises using Active directory policies too.
KomoD 3y ago
Seems... very pointless and sketchy? Just enable auto-lock or dynamic lock? And technically *you* can control anyone's PC who has downloaded this 81mb closed-source program then? And why is the download link so sketchy "https://t0.is/lockfyconsumerpc https://t0.is/lockfyconsumerpc"
- adelzu 3y ago
  Hi KomoD, There are several reasons why Auto/dynamic lock do not work. Each have it's own issues. for example, Auto lock doesn't work if you have YouTube running or if you have a website playing a video ad silently. Dynamic lock also fails and interrupts your work if your phone disconnects from Bluetooth. Which is annoying and users end up disabling it (I did). In addition, you need a compatible device. And not all devices are. Unfortunately, not everything can be open-sourced. some of the open source component we used (And modified) are open source to comply with the licenses (check https://github.com/leiratech https://github.com/leiratech). We also worked with DigiCert and they vetted us extensively (including me personally) and issued us a code signing certificate. If you download the app and right click, then properties, you can validate that the installer is signed by a valid Extended-Validation Certificate from DigiCert. I'm not saying that you should trust some random website posting a download, but these should give us some credibility. As far for the link, it's a shortened version. We use this to update the installer download link for new versions. This way, it gets updated everywhere we posted it when we release a new version. So if you click on this on Twitter 6 months from now, you will get the latest version. The full unshortened version is https://lockfyae.blob.core.windows.net/lockfy-consumer/Lockfy_v1.13.0.370-x64.exe https://lockfyae.blob.core.windows.net/lockfy-consumer/Lockf... It is 81MB because we included dotnet 7 runtime with it, otherwise the setup process would be complicated. And, here is my linked-in profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelzu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelzu/, I hope this eases up some of your concerns.
  - Zarkex01 3y ago
    [dead]

2 points by adelzu 3y ago

Hello HN! Did you lock your PC the last time you walked away? We all forget, even i do, and i worked at Microsoft for 5 years and thought i would never. This is why we built Lockfy. It helps you maintain a better PC hygene by reminding you to lock your PC if you forgot to lock it. And allowing you to lock it from anywhere around the world. In addition to shutdown, reboot and some nice features. Try Lockfy for free, and we would love to hear your feedback on support@lockfy.io Thanks Adel | Founder & CEO

yuppie_scum 3y ago

Wouldn’t it be a lot simpler and cheaper to set up auto locking via the OS settings?

bradknowles 3y ago
Maybe using a device like a smartwatch or a smartphone to help you automatically lock it when you leave the vicinity?
- adelzu 3y ago
  That does work with some compatible devices, but it's not enough. As long as Bluetooth is connected, it will not lock. and if it disconnects for any reason (even if it is because of interference) It will just lock even if you are using the PC. Lockfy gives you piece of mind by letting you know the status (Locked/Unlocked). And gives you control, by allowing you to take actions.
adelzu 3y ago
Unfortunately, that fails more than you think. A youtube video running, a video ad playing silently, a video driver issue, a reboot pending notification from the OS. all of these and way more could prevent your OS settings from kicking in. This also applies to enterprises using Active directory policies too.

KomoD 3y ago

Seems... very pointless and sketchy? Just enable auto-lock or dynamic lock? And technically *you* can control anyone's PC who has downloaded this 81mb closed-source program then? And why is the download link so sketchy "https://t0.is/lockfyconsumerpc https://t0.is/lockfyconsumerpc"

adelzu 3y ago
Hi KomoD, There are several reasons why Auto/dynamic lock do not work. Each have it's own issues. for example, Auto lock doesn't work if you have YouTube running or if you have a website playing a video ad silently. Dynamic lock also fails and interrupts your work if your phone disconnects from Bluetooth. Which is annoying and users end up disabling it (I did). In addition, you need a compatible device. And not all devices are. Unfortunately, not everything can be open-sourced. some of the open source component we used (And modified) are open source to comply with the licenses (check https://github.com/leiratech https://github.com/leiratech). We also worked with DigiCert and they vetted us extensively (including me personally) and issued us a code signing certificate. If you download the app and right click, then properties, you can validate that the installer is signed by a valid Extended-Validation Certificate from DigiCert. I'm not saying that you should trust some random website posting a download, but these should give us some credibility. As far for the link, it's a shortened version. We use this to update the installer download link for new versions. This way, it gets updated everywhere we posted it when we release a new version. So if you click on this on Twitter 6 months from now, you will get the latest version. The full unshortened version is https://lockfyae.blob.core.windows.net/lockfy-consumer/Lockfy_v1.13.0.370-x64.exe https://lockfyae.blob.core.windows.net/lockfy-consumer/Lockf... It is 81MB because we included dotnet 7 runtime with it, otherwise the setup process would be complicated. And, here is my linked-in profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelzu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelzu/, I hope this eases up some of your concerns.
- Zarkex01 3y ago
  [dead]