Unlocker is a tool that can trace and "unlock" the locking

File locking

File locking is a mechanism that restricts access to a computer file by allowing only one user or process access at any specific time. Systems implement locking to prevent the classic interceding update scenario ....

 protection commonly used in system files

Computer file

A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...

. However, its main use is to terminate the processes

Process (computing)

In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being executed. It contains the program code and its current activity. Depending on the operating system , a process may be made up of multiple threads of execution that execute instructions concurrently.A computer program is a...

 that are using a certain file, or force the processes to stop using the file, so the user can safely delete, rename or move the file. It is written by the French programmer Cedrick 'Nitch' Collomb and the latest version is 1.9.1.

History

The main changes since the first version are bug

Software bug

A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...

 fixes. The installer also had a few improvements as well as the GUI

Gui

Gui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...

 and source code

Source code

In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...

.
Unlocker is primarily used in software and game modification

Mod (computer gaming)

Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...

 and re-installations

Installation (computer programs)

Installation of a program is the act of putting the program onto a computer system so that it can be executed....

.
Unlocker currently supports exactly 40 languages. Version 1.0 supported only English.

Features

Unlocker is a GUI application with the feature of command-line interface through an administrative console. It can unload application extensions

Dynamic-link library

Dynamic-link library , or DLL, is Microsoft's implementation of the shared library concept in the Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems...

, terminate processes, as well as force a process to stop using a certain file (This function is called "Unlock" in the program itself). Also a portable variant of the program is available.
There are several analogues of the product.