🚓 @gqv/pc-security-alarm

A police-style anti-theft alarm for your own Windows PC.

Arm it before you step away. If anyone touches the mouse or keyboard, a full-screen police alarm takes over the screen with flashing red/blue lights and a loud siren, and shows your contact details so an honest finder can return your device.

• Only you can stop it, with a secret shortcut you choose.
• While it runs, the window can't be closed and the volume can't be turned down.
• If an intruder mashes keys trying to kill it, it quietly takes their photo with the webcam and encrypts it in a hidden folder that only your shortcut can open.

⚠️ Read "Stopping the alarm" and "If you forget your shortcut" before you use this.

Installation

npm install -g @gqv/pc-security-alarm

Requirements: Windows 10/11, Node.js 16+, and Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

First-time setup (a window opens)

The first time you run it, a native Windows setup window opens on its own:

pc-alarm

Everything is in one window, with a ready-made profile already filled in (John Doe) so you can try it in seconds:

1. Owner details (shown on the alarm screen under FOR CONTACT): Name, Phone, Email, Address, and a Message. Edit them to your own, or leave a field empty to hide it.
2. Arm delay — seconds to wait before arming (default 10), so you can step away.
3. Stop shortcut — the box shows the default Ctrl + Shift + Q, already filled in. Click Change and press your own combo (hold Ctrl and/or Alt, Shift optional, then one key, e.g. Ctrl + Alt + K), or click Use default.
4. Intruder photo folder — the name of the hidden folder where intruder photos are kept. Default is vault (so the folder is .vault). You can rename it; it always lives next to your settings.
5. Start automatically when Windows starts — the checkbox at the top-right. Tick it and the alarm will arm itself every time you power on the PC.

Click Set & Start (or press Enter). A red warning window shows your shortcut in large text. Press OK — Start countdown (or Enter again) and the countdown begins.

Fastest start: just press Enter, then Enter again — it starts with the John Doe profile and the default shortcut. Change the details later with pc-alarm setup.

Your settings are saved only on your PC at %USERPROFILE%\.pc-security-alarm\config.json. Nothing is sent over the internet.

Change anything later with:

pc-alarm setup

No desktop (rare)? Setup falls back to simple questions in the terminal.

How it works

1. After the countdown, the PC is ARMED. The guard runs hidden in the background — you can close the terminal.
2. Any mouse move, click, scroll or key press starts the alarm:
   • A full-screen police alarm opens on top of every window: light bar, red/blue strobes, hazard tape, an incident report (case number, device, time) and your FOR CONTACT details.
   • A loud wail + yelp siren plays.
3. While the alarm runs:
   • Closing the window → it reopens in seconds.
   • Switching windows → the alarm comes back to the front.
   • Lowering the volume or muting → it jumps back to 100%.
   • Ending the background task → a second hidden process restarts it.
4. Pressing only Ctrl / Alt / Shift never starts the alarm, so you can type your shortcut safely.

📸 Intruder photo (automatic)

When the alarm is sounding and someone mashes more keys at once than your shortcut uses, the app assumes they're trying to force it off and acts:

• It takes a photo with the front webcam.
• The photo is encrypted (AES-256) and saved to the hidden photo folder you named in setup (default .vault). The key is your stop shortcut, so no one can open it without it.

Examples:

• Shortcut Ctrl + Alt + F4 (3 keys) → pressing more than 3 keys at once triggers a photo.
• A 5-key shortcut → pressing more than 5 keys at once triggers a photo.

See the photos after you stop the alarm:

pc-alarm unlock

Press your shortcut when asked. The photos are decrypted into a folder and opened for you. A wrong shortcut can't decrypt them.

The webcam photo needs a working, un-covered camera. If there is no camera, the alarm still works — it just can't take a photo.

Stopping the alarm

Press your shortcut anywhere, any time — during the countdown, while armed, or while the siren is blaring. The window closes, the siren stops, the guard turns off, and a popup confirms it.

There is no other stop button and no stop command. Ctrl + C, closing windows and ending the task do not stop it.

The volume stays at 100% after stopping — turn it down yourself if needed.

⚠️ If you forget or lose your shortcut

Restart the PC (Ctrl + Alt + Delete → Power → Restart). The alarm does not start by itself after a restart unless you turned on auto-start — in that case it starts but still waits out the arm delay, giving you time to press your shortcut. Then set a new one:

pc-alarm setup

To see your saved settings (including the shortcut) while the alarm is not running:

pc-alarm info

Commands

| Command | What it does | | --- | --- | | pc-alarm | Start the alarm (first run opens the setup window) | | pc-alarm setup | Open the setup window (details, delay, shortcut, auto-start) | | pc-alarm test | Arm immediately with no countdown, to try it | | pc-alarm unlock | Decrypt and open the intruder photos (needs your shortcut) | | pc-alarm info | Show saved settings | | pc-alarm readme | Open this guide in your browser | | pc-alarm help | Show help |

Setup can't be changed while the alarm is running.

Limitations (please read)

This is a strong deterrent, not an unbreakable lock. Someone holding the PC can still restart it, or use Ctrl + Alt + Delete → Task Manager to end both background processes quickly. For real protection also use a Windows password, BitLocker and Find my device.

Shortcut rules: must include Ctrl or Alt; not allowed: the Windows key, Esc/Tab/Enter/Space/Backspace, Alt + F4, Ctrl + Alt + Delete, Ctrl + C/V/X/A/Z/S, and Ctrl + Shift + W/T/N.

Files on your PC

• Settings: %USERPROFILE%\.pc-security-alarm\config.json
• Encrypted intruder photos: %USERPROFILE%\.pc-security-alarm\.vault\ (hidden; folder name is what you set in setup)
• Log: %USERPROFILE%\.pc-security-alarm\alarm.log

Guide URL

https://www.npmjs.com/package/@gqv/pc-security-alarm

License

MIT