Lock Your Computer Keyboard From the Kids

These days we encourage children to use computers from a very young age, but as much as you want to help your kids become familiar with technology, the last thing you need is an exuberant toddler banging away on your keyboard and destroying an important document you're working on. I recently came across a very nifty little program that can protect your work from the busy little fingers of your kids, by letting you lock your keyboard when you leave your computer, and it's very aptly called CrazyLittleFingers.

How Does It Work?

If you activate CrazyLittleFingers when you leave your PC for one reason or another, it locks the keyboard, shielding whatever is running at the time. If anyone presses a key on the keyboard while the program is activated, either a picture appears on the screen or a sound is emitted corresponding to the struck key - an image of an animal when a letter key is pressed (P for 'pig', H for 'horse', and F for 'frog' and so on), the relevant numeral appears when a number key is struck, and noises are generated for the remaining keys. It doesn't matter if kids click anywhere on the screen; they cannot shut the program down. To escape the program, you need to press CTRL-ALT-DELETE, which requires a dexterity beyond very young children - even some adults when it comes to that.

Installing CrazyLittleFingers

To install the program go to CrazyLittleWebsite's websit and download it. Here, you'll find two download links. The first one is for the full program and is a much bigger download than the second (65M as opposed to 300K), but it is ready to use immediately with all images and sounds included.

If you opt for the second download option (EXE only), you'll need to configure each keyboard key to your own images and sounds (BMP, GIF, JPG, MOV [QuickTime], MP3, WAV supported). The advantage of taking this option is that you can use animals and sounds that your child will relate to, but that's a lot more work and requires a higher skill level.

When you've decided on which download version you prefer, click on the relevant link and follow the prompts to download the zip file to the destination of your choice. To install the program, navigate to the location you chose for the download and unzip the file by clicking on Extract and choosing a destination folder. Next, go to this folder and double-click on the CrazyLittleFingers.exe file to run the program.

Additional features are planned for CrazyLittleFingers, including the ability for the program to auto-start after a certain period of inactivity on a PC; support for more image, video and audio formats; and support for dual monitor systems - if you have a dual-monitor setup, CrazyLittleFingers will only lock the primary screen, leaving the second screen vulnerable. So, check back now and then for updates. CrazyLittleFingers is only compatible with Windows machines.

At the time of writing, the DonationCoder Web site, where I came across this handy piece of software, was offering a lifetime membership for a one-off donation of any amount to support its work in prompting freeware on the site. It's a limited offer, but there was no indication of when the offer ends. Membership provides you with many additional benefits including exclusive downloads, access to monthly free software drawings and a single non-expiring licence key for all its programs.

Resource:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294317
http://lifediscourse.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/crazy-little-finger/