How in the Tech

Hide that Running Application when Dad’s Around

By Adam Myers ⋅ June 17, 2009 ⋅ Tags: Windows

Historically, the Boss Key or Panic Button is a piece of software running in the background that can be triggered to obstruct parts of the screen on demand, typically by a predefined keyboard shortcut. The logic is pretty simple to deduce; if you are running or viewing something you should not be, perhaps a video game or a YouTube video, and your boss walks by you are likely to get caught in the act. Rather than hastily fumbling with the mouse in order to hit the minimize button, you quickly execute your boss key, and thus save the day or even your job.

Dad’s Around is one such panic button application and was an entry in the Donation Coder NANY 2009 programming challenge. The software performs just as describe above and requires no installation – meaning it’s portable and leaves no remnants on the host computer. At just over 5MB of memory use when running, it is also lightweight and hides away in the Windows tray while running.

By default, Dad’s Around actions are initiated with Windows Key+Z and kick-starts four functions: mute audio, close out the active application window, minimize all windows, and black the screen. You may configure the software to do any and all of the previous actions as well as rebind the shortcut key to whatever is most convenient for your sneaktivity!