USBHawk turns an ordinary USB flash drive into a physical key for your PC. Plug it in, Windows unlocks. Pull it out, Windows locks. No password typed, ever - after the one-time setup.
Not a "remember my password" script. USBHawk uses public-key cryptography to prove the USB is genuine before anything unlocks - the same category of thing a hardware security key does, built for a USB drive you already own.
Run the installer, then a guided window opens: pick your USB drive from a list, confirm your password twice, done.
Insert the enrolled USB at your lock screen and Windows logs you in automatically - no password field, no click.
ECDSA P-256 public-key signatures verify the USB is genuine every time - not a hash of a password sitting in a file.
The private key on the drive is encrypted with Windows' own DPAPI, tied to this specific PC. Stolen alone, it's useless.
A quiet tray app watches for the drive and locks your session the instant it's pulled - no forgetting to lock up.
No servers, no account, no telemetry. Your keys, your Windows credentials, and your enrollment data never leave your PC.
Built like a security tool, not a shortcut.
Every unlock is a fresh cryptographic signature check - nothing is ever replayed or reused.
The USB's private key only decrypts on the PC it was enrolled on - copying the drive elsewhere gets an attacker nothing.
Your Windows password is protected the same way Windows' own AutoLogon feature does it - not a custom, unaudited scheme.
Every installed component is signed, so Windows and your antivirus can verify nothing's been tampered with.
By default, USBHawk adds a tile to your lock screen - it never removes normal password sign-in unless you deliberately turn on Lockdown Mode.
USBHawk uses a straightforward perpetual-license model. Your license does not expire; one year of product updates is included with your purchase.
On its own, it's useless. The private key on the drive is encrypted to your specific PC using Windows DPAPI - it cannot be decrypted on any other machine. Someone would need both the drive and physical access to your unlocked, enrolled PC.
Sign in with your normal Windows password - USBHawk never removes that option by default. Then re-enroll a new USB drive whenever you're ready. We'd still recommend keeping a spare enrolled drive as backup.
Yes, via the optional Lockdown Mode described above - but it removes your fallback sign-in completely, so USBHawk requires two proven successful USB unlocks on your machine before offering it, and we strongly recommend having a recovery plan (documented in the full guide) before enabling it.
No - it automates entering it. Your actual Windows account password still exists and is what ultimately gets submitted; USBHawk just handles that for you once the USB proves it's genuine.
No. Enrollment, verification, and storage all happen entirely on your PC. There's no account to create and nothing is ever sent anywhere.
No. The installer does everything - install, register, configure - and hands off to a small wizard window with a dropdown for your USB drive and two password fields. No command line, no file paths, no configuration to edit by hand.
Yes - USBHawk only adds one small file to the drive and doesn't touch anything else on it.
Re-run the enrollment wizard from the Start Menu to update the stored password. Until you do, USBHawk will fall back cleanly and let you sign in with your password manually.
