Today screen sharing has become a staple in virtual meetings, remote work, and online collaborations. Tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and others make it easy to share your desktop or specific apps with colleagues or clients. However, this convenience comes with a risk: accidentally exposing sensitive information. Imagine opening a confidential document during a call and having it captured in a screenshot or recording without your knowledge. This is where DisplayGuard steps in as a clever solution.
DisplayGuard is a free, lightweight utility designed to protect your privacy by hiding selected application windows from screen captures and shares. It is particularly useful for professionals handling private data, such as financial reports, personal notes, or proprietary information. By injecting a protection mechanism into 64-bit processes, it ensures that only you can see the protected window on your local screen, while it remains invisible to remote viewers or recording tools. Tested on Windows 11, this tool addresses a common pain point in our increasingly connected work environments.
Key Features
DisplayGuard packs essential features into a simple package, making it accessible even for non-technical users. Here’s what stands out:
- Selective Window Hiding: It targets the main window of 64-bit applications, ensuring they don’t appear in screen shares or captures. Child windows, like dialogs or pop-ups, stay visible if needed, so your workflow isn’t disrupted.
- Anti-Screen Capture Protection: Compatible with Windows 10 and 11, it blocks the window from being detected by common screenshot tools, screen recorders, or sharing features in apps like Teams and Zoom.
- Low System Impact: As a lightweight tool, it runs with minimal resource usage, avoiding slowdowns on your computer.
- Easy Process Selection: The interface lists running processes, allowing you to pick and protect specific apps quickly.
These features make DisplayGuard ideal for anyone who values privacy without sacrificing usability.
How It Works
At its core, DisplayGuard uses a technique called DLL injection to modify how a target application’s window behaves during screen captures. When you launch the tool (with admin rights), it displays a window with a list of active processes. You can refresh this list to see newly opened apps.
Select a process, such as Microsoft Photos or Notepad, and click “Inject DLL.” This injects a custom DLL into the 64-bit process, which alters the window’s properties. On your screen, everything looks normal—you can interact with the app as usual. But when someone tries to capture or share your screen, the protected window simply doesn’t show up. It’s like having an invisible shield over sensitive content.
Importantly, the protection is temporary; closing the target app removes it automatically. This ensures no lingering effects on your system.
Getting Started
Getting started with DisplayGuard is straightforward. First, download the ZIP package from the developer’s website. Extract the files to a folder on your computer.
In order to use it:
- Run DisplayGuard.exe as an administrator (right-click and select “Run as administrator”).
- If your target app isn’t running, launch it now (e.g., open Notepad or a browser).
- Click Refresh in the DisplayGuard window to update the process list.
- In DisplayGuard, choose the process from the list (e.g., explorer.exe for File Explorer or Microsoft.Photos.exe for the Photos app).
- Click Inject DLL to apply the protection.
You can verify the protection by taking a screenshot or starting a screen share. The main window should be hidden from capture, appearing as a blank or invisible area to others.
Conclusion
In an era where screen sharing is ubiquitous, tools like DisplayGuard empower users to maintain control over their digital privacy. By offering a simple yet effective way to hide windows from captures, it bridges the gap between convenience and security. Whether you’re a professional safeguarding sensitive info or just someone cautious about online visibility, DisplayGuard is a valuable addition to your toolkit.
You can download DisplayGuard from https://aulap.my.id/#tools.