A year ago I introduced a free utility called Unlocker that is able to unlock files you cannot delete, more or rename because there are programs that might be using the file. It’s a very good utility and I always recommend people to install it. The only problem with that utility is that it requires installation and it’s not portable.

I need something that can do the same except it is portable and I can carry it on my USB flash drive. It can be very helpful in stopping and deleting running suspicious files on customer’s computer. After a little searching, I found a free utility that can do the same as Unlocker and it’s PORTABLE!


FileASSASSIN can delete locked files on your system. It uses advanced techniques to unload modules, close remote handles, and terminate processes to allow the removal of the file.

Simply download FileASSASSIN from the link below. There are installer version and also portable version. Start FileASSASSIN and select a file by dragging it onto the text area or select it using the (…) button. Next, select a removal method from the list. Finally, click delete and the removal process will commence.

I like the options that the interface has. You can either use the FileASSASSIN’s method to unlock and delete the running file, or you can choose to automatically delete the file when Windows reboot or the normal delete function that is the same as pressing the delete key in Windows. Below are the explanations of FileASSASIN’s method of file processing.
1. Unlock locked file handlers: This option will scan through all handles system wide and remove any pointers to the file.
2. Unload modules: This function will free the libraries from remote processes.
3. Terminate the file’s process: This function will simply terminate the process.
4. Delete file: This option will decide if the file shall be deleted or not.

FileASSASSIN v1.05 is free and compatible with Windows 2000, NT, XP, Vista.

[ Download FileASSASSIN Installer | Portable version of FileASSASSIN ]