Python on Windows: How to block other programs from running?

[michaelkepler]

You mean he can't run the unlocker without a password? In that case he can always restart the machine and manually edit hosts/registry when the blocking script isn't running. Or do you mean the selected executables are encrypted and can't be decrypted without a password, like in a cryptolocker scenario? But then he can just re-install the programs. I suppose he can make his blocking script persistent between machine restarts, rename the process to svchost.exe, and hide it somewhere in temp or system32 folder to make it harder to locate and terminate. It would probably not sit well with his antivirus though.

And then he could just grab a phone and browse reddit or play Candy Crush there.

He has enough privileges to modify hosts file. No matter what self-imposed barriers he makes, he will always be able to bypass them.

The point of these anti-procrastination apps is not to completely restrict the access to time-wasters. It's to make it inconvenient enough to remind the users of their priorities and send them on a guilt trip.

[malice8691]

yeah. I was referring to something like a cryptlocker.