This is a quick how-to guide to creating a simple one-click script to instantly close any application or multiple applications running on your computer.
Why do I need a panic button?
A friend of mine was recently visiting one of her favorite haunts on the web, when suddenly one of the ads in the site went mustang and hijacked her browser windows. One window instantly went to full-screen, while a smaller window told her that her machine was infected with spyware and that she should click the OK button to install their anti-spyware software. The problem is that there was no other option, and the “X” to close the window was merely a fake image and part of the malicious program, which when clicked would begin installing files onto the computer!
I knew of this threat, and told her to press Alt+F4 immediately, but the wretched beast had disabled the ability to close the web browser application. The only way to kill it was to enter the Task Manager and kill the process tree for Internet Explorer.
Other friends and acquaintances were not so fortunate and ended up bringing their machines to my shop to have the crapware scrubbed off of them.
That is just one good reason to panic! Tabbed browsing, and popup blockers have alleviated a good share of the suffering inflicted upon web surfers, but not entirely. Some times there is a good reason why you have more than one window open, and some times there is a dang good reason to get rid of it fast…
Don’t want the boss to see all of your chat windows, or catch you playing a game? (Admit it! You’ve been tempted before.)
Whether it be for security reasons, personal reasons, or mere convenience, you may find a panic button to be a useful tool.
How do I make one?
Easy! I have prepared a short video tutorial that should make the process very simple.
What if I want to close something other than my browser? How do I find the name?
The simplest way to find the executable name is to follow these easy steps:
- Right-click the shortcut to your application.
- Select “Properties” from the menu.
- In the box labeled “Target“, the file name should be at the very end (far right).
What else can I do with my panic button to make it more convenient?
If you find the DOS box that flashes briefly by to be irritating, or if you like to simplify the use of your panic button by making it more accessible, you can simply add it to your Windows Quick Launch bar!
To do this, simply drag your icon to the Quick Launch bar and drop it there.
This will create a “one-click” shortcut to the panic, that is easily accessible, even when an application is maximized on your desktop!
To rid yourself of the black box that flashes by when you click the panic button, we’ll simply force it to run “minimized”.
- Right-click your new Quick Launch icon, and select “Properties“.
- In the properties dialogue, on the “Shortcut” tab, locate the box labeled “Run“.
- Click the drop-down box and select “Minimized“.
If you’re feeling frisky, you can also alter the icon in this screen. Otherwise, you should be good to go!
A word of caution!
When you use this technique to close out of an application you will not be prompted to save your work before it closes. So it is not advisable to use it on applications like Microsoft Word (winword.exe), Excel (excel.exe) , and whatnot. Also, some applications save changes to themselves (i.e., window positions, size, etc.) prior to closing, normally. When you kill a process with the panic button, the application will not save those changes.
Even so, it can have many uses and I hope that you’ll enjoy playing around with it!
Have fun, and if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear them.
- Aardaerimus
One Response
Nice work.
-M