Forgot Your Block Password - What to Do?

Unfortunately, ProgramBlocker doesn’t have a "forgot password" feature. If you forget the password set on a block, you must manually remove it from the data file.

How to Manually Remove a Password

WARNING: Only do this if you truly forgot the password. Don’t do this just to bypass the password — better to keep the password noted in a safe place.

1. Close the ProgramBlocker completely (File → Exit).
2. Open Windows Explorer.
3. Navigate to the following folder (this folder is hidden by default):
   • C:\ProgramData\ProgramBlocker\
   • If you can’t see it, first enable the Show hidden files option in Windows Explorer (View tab → check "Hidden items").
4. Find the file named protection.dat.
5. Right-click the file, choose Open with → Notepad (or another text editor).
6. You’ll see a list of lines like:
   • C:\Path\To\Program.exe|longpasswordhash
   • C:\Path\To\AnotherProgram.exe|anotherpasswordhash
7. Delete the line corresponding to the program whose password you want to remove.
   • Or, if you want to remove all passwords at once, delete all file contents (or delete the file itself).
8. Save the file (Ctrl + S).
9. Reopen ProgramBlocker. The block is now no longer password-protected.

Alternative: If you’re uneasy about editing the file, you can delete the entire protection.dat file. This will remove passwords from all existing blocks. The blocks themselves remain active, they’re just no longer password-protected.

Future tip: Note passwords in a safe place (for example a password manager software or a neatly stored physical note).