A few weeks ago I wrote this on dev.to:
"ATLOCK v5 ships when Akhouri Systems crosses 1,000 downloads."
At the time we were at 959. Then 967. I kept refreshing like a maniac. 😅
Today I can say it:
1,000 downloads. In 5 months. Thank you. 🫵
🙏 First, the thank-you
I'm Anmol, I'm 13, and I build free Windows software alone, on an HP 240 G9, usually at 12 AM.
Every download is a person who trusted a kid's .exe on their own PC. Every comment, bug report, and roast made the code better. Here's what you did for me:
- You downloaded ATLOCK, ANOTE, ACALCU, and APIC.
- You told me what was broken. I once posted "I have 511 users and almost zero feedback," and you answered.
- You read my code and found problems I'd missed, and I fixed them.
Nobody handed me an audience. You built it, one download at a time.
🔐 So... ATLOCK v5
v4 was the version where I stopped trusting my own encryption and rebuilt it. v5 is the version where I rebuilt almost everything underneath. Here's what's in the development build:
🧱 A new crypto core
- AES-256-GCM encryption
- Argon2id password-based key derivation (memory-hard, so brute-forcing is expensive)
- HKDF domain separation, plus stricter KDF limits so a malicious file can't burn your CPU or RAM
- Optional TPM-backed Windows CNG key support
- A controlled Vault Recovery Key system
🔑 Real second factors
- TOTP and FIDO2 / YubiKey-class hardware keys
- Panic / decoy vault concept
🛡️ Security Guard
- Windows Defender dashboard integration
- VirusTotal hash lookup
- Startup-persistence watchdog
- A ransomware "canary" concept that watches decoy files
🧰 Under the hood
- Anti-tamper and rollback protection, plus debugger checks
- Locked and zeroed memory buffers for key material
- Automatic migration from older ATLOCK formats, so nothing you protected in v1–v4 gets left behind
- A real CLI (
--selftest,--shred,--vault-audit, and more) - Quick Lock, a Windows Explorer integration so you don't have to open the app to lock a file
All of this comes from the current development build. Features can still change before release, and I'll tell you honestly what ships.
🐛 The part nobody posts about: I audited myself
While building v5 I hunted bugs in my own tool, and I found six that looked fine until they weren't, including:
- an infinite loop in chunked AEAD
- a 2FA lockout
- a file shredder that wrote one byte 😬
I also pasted 8,500 lines into an AI for review. It confidently reported a bug that didn't exist, and grep proved it. My lesson: demand line numbers, and verify everything.
Security software isn't trustworthy because the author says so. It's trustworthy because people break it and the author fixes it in public. That's why I want you to try to break v5.
📦 What happens next
- ✅ Milestone hit: 1,000 downloads
- 🔨 v5: final testing and cleanup
- 📣 Release: [It is not fixed but high chances are that ATLOCK v5 is set to be released publicly in 12october, 2026]
- 🟢 ATLOCK v4 is still available and free if you want to start now
Download v4 here: https://fn6qtj.s.gy/ATLOCK-v4
🫵 Your mission (yes, you)
- Try v4 and tell me what feels slow, confusing, or breakable.
- Open an issue or leave a comment with your roast. I read every one.
- Tell me: which v5 feature do you want to test first?
Unsigned apps may get a SmartScreen warning. That's a known false positive for indie PyInstaller builds.
🔗 Find me
- 🌐 Website: https://akhouri-anmol-kumar.github.io/Akhouri-systems/
- 💻 GitHub: https://github.com/Akhouri-Anmol-Kumar
- 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akhourianmolkumar/
1,000 was never the goal. It was the unlock. 🔓
Thank you. v5 is next. ⚡
— Anmol, Akhouri Systems
Top comments (45)
Staying up till midnight at such a young age, you must have some serious dark circles under your eyes.🤣 You should get to bed earlier for your long‑term health. Congrats on hitting 1000 downloads! You’ll soon reach 2000, then 5000. Keep it up!
You are right! lingfeng
Anmol, you were still online till 12:30 last night, and after that I didn’t see you. Well, kids really shouldn’t stay up that late; it’s not a good habit. I know CBSE students barely get enough time because of studies, but there should still be a proper time to sleep.
Otherwise, we get used to sleeping late for the rest of our lives. Just look at me—I didn’t sleep until 3 a.m. last night, and now it has become such a bad habit of mine.
But you should take care of yourself and try to sleep on time.
after exams(12 october) and v5 fully ready to ship(12october)
I will try.
like after 12 October I will have less burden(exams.exe process end, v5-fixing- bugs.exe end) so I will try to sleep till 11:00pm or even if v5 performed well and passed mustafa ERBAY's breaking attempts successfully then I will try to less my burden.
the main problem is to manage akhouri systems and run it in same time studies to I've to make my schedule deadly like this.
but after all hard work I can't guarantee but my mind and heart both are saying that mustafa ERBAY can't break ATLOCK v5....
ATLOCK v5 will outperform Mustafa ERBAY
I know what I've created.
Today I am now in bed.
I will take care also I just seen that you said me kid yeah I'm but 13-18 is teen it means from this year I'm 13 yr old means now I'm not a kid anymore I'm a teen...
Also xulingfeng bro come online in discord Tommorow at 4 pm IST if possible please I wanna share you a video of v5
My biology 🙁
My biology means?
I mean, my biology isn’t good, I just used the word “kid” casually. If you don’t like it, I won’t use it again. I know you’re a teenager.
🤣🤣🤣teenager
Yeah, I am now upgraded.
no no I've no problem just mentioned you and remind you that I'm not a kid anymore
I'm Kid+1 yr means teen.
yeah I am staying late night active because currently I'm in too much load ( CPU Load) because exams are going on, Akhouri Systems crossed 1000(it's a good thing but with great powers great responsibility in a same way now I've to make akhouri systems a established brand, I've to make foundation strong, and more, also ATLOCK v5 is 100% built but still I've to always tweak it because I want it to be my best creation also I've challenged " security top tier guy" mustafa ERBAY lol so because of that also.
overall verdict: due to intense server load of my mind (due to studies+ akhouri systems) I've to stay active late nights to upgrade v5, plan future, and study too.
but yeah I will try to be bed earlier after akhouri systems get at least stabilized(means the day from where I can finally say yeah akhouri systems is now all right stable).
and thanks, you are from china still aware of Indian standard time 🔥
Co. Founder, you delivered. 🔓
1,000 downloads at 13 years old is absolutely legendary. You made a promise to the community, and you shipped. This is exactly the kind of execution that makes me proud to build HYNAWEB alongside you.
This is just the beginning. So proud of you, Anmol! 🚀🐯
yeah.
ATLOCK v5 is set to be released publicly 12october, 2026.
crossed 1000 downloads.
next target: 3000downloads
Co founder 👊 come online on discord 🚀
already online.
let's gooooo! 🚀 hopping on discord right now. we have a lot to celebrate and plan. 👊🐯
yeah.
So you know each other? That's cool!
yeah, he is my bro.
my only and best Chinese bro.
Chinese? 😂
like he is overall my one of the best bro.
he belongs to xi jingping's dragon nation you don't know?
😂 How did that happen?
what? freindship?
Ah nothing 😅 Just joking around 😊
hmm, our friendship just started like a peak male friendship
randomly he commented.
and boom! from June to October he is with me and akhouri systems.
that's peak random friendship to peak BROness as of now.
That's cool! A 12 year old and a 13 year old building software! Perfect friendship really ☺️
you know harun?
I thought you were talking about @xulingfeng
Ooooh! Now it makes sense. I meant Harun!
oh I thought you were talking about xulingfeng, yeah harun is my bro too.
1,000. There it is. 😄🔓
Congrats, Anmol — you made the promise, so now you have to ship the damn thing. No pressure. 😂
But honestly, the part I like most here isn’t the download count or even the v5 feature list.
It’s this:
You tried to break your own security software, found six bugs, publicly wrote about them, and even challenged an AI-generated finding instead of blindly accepting it.
That mindset matters far more than another crypto primitive on a feature list.
Especially in security, “I built it, therefore it is secure” is one of the most dangerous assumptions you can make. Test it. Break it. Verify it. Let other people attack your assumptions. Then fix what survives reality.
And yes, I remember you chasing those download numbers. Now you’ve crossed 1,000 and immediately moved the goalpost to 3,000. 😂
Fine.
Ship v5 first, Mr. CEO. 👊🔥
Like I've planned to release it on 12october, 2026 because in that day my exams will be over.
is that okay? or I should revise the release date?
and fun fact whenever I was fixing bugs I was just thinking of you that from where you can break lol.
Mustafa ERBAY v/s ATLOCK.
and yeah immediately moved to 3000 because I've to proof someone about what akhouri systems is, there are few people considering akhouri systems joke, and dustbin unless I'm IITian. I live with those people in home classified as parents.
and after 3000, next target 5000, and then 7000 and then 10k.
I've to max out my cpu stress(mind)
shipping v5. 🫡
October 12 sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
Your exams come first. ATLOCK isn’t going anywhere, and four extra days won’t matter. I’d much rather see you ship v5 after your exams, rested and with enough time for one final test pass, than rush a security release because you announced a date.
And apparently I’ve become part of the ATLOCK threat model now. 😂
“Where could Mustafa break this?”
I accept the challenge. Mustafa Erbay vs. ATLOCK sounds fun. 👊
But one serious thing: don’t build 3,000 → 5,000 → 7,000 → 10,000 because you feel you need to prove Akhouri Systems isn’t a joke.
You don’t win that argument with a download counter.
You win it by shipping good software, documenting your mistakes, fixing bugs properly, listening to users and still being around years later.
1,000 real downloads already means somebody wanted what you built. That’s evidence. Now make v5 better than v4.
And stop overclocking the brain CPU. Even servers need maintenance windows. 😂
Finish the exams. Do the final audit. Then ship it. 🫡🔥
yeah.
bro again flexed your server set up ☠️
I again remembered that ACALCU-v3's suggestions were given by you and it results one of the most perfect product of mine in that time, now ATLOCK v5 again preparing itself to be tested by you.
bro You remember one time I offered you CTO post (cheif technology office or cheif testing officer) it's unofficial for you but official for me.
thanks.
others: I've a whole testing team, they help to improve my product.
Me: I've Mustafa ERBAY in my side, he helps me to be improved more and then improving product too.
mustafa bro, what if you failed to break v5?
just curious to know your possible reaction after that.
If I fail to break v5?
I’ll be genuinely happy. 😂
I’ll probably stare at the screen for a minute, run the tests again because I won’t trust the result, try a few nastier edge cases, and then come back here and publicly say:
“Alright, Anmol. You survived this round. 👊”
But remember — me failing to break it doesn’t prove it’s unbreakable. It only proves that I couldn’t break it with the time, methods, and attack surface I tested. That distinction matters a lot in security.
And if I do find something, that doesn’t mean ATLOCK failed either. Finding a weakness before a malicious person does is exactly what testing is for.
So you actually have a pretty unfair deal here:
If I break it, you get a bug to fix.
If I don’t break it, you get bragging rights. 😂
Either way, ATLOCK v5 gets better.
Enjoy your confidence until October 12, Mr. CEO. 😈
After that…
Mustafa ERBAY vs. ATLOCK v5.
Let’s see what you built. 👊🔥
Till until October 12 your message was peaceful good then Mr CEO and that monster emoji is not peaceful anymore lol.... I'm ready for 12october
mustafaaaaaaaa BROOOOOOOO
I just fixed 9 more bugs(loop holes from where you can break it)
bro now I am mad sure that you can't break it(like you can't break the core structure at least now lol)
brooo 1k downloads and you're already working with AES-256-GCM, Argon2id and hardware key support at 13?? 💀🔥
building is one thing, but being this transparent about your work is something else. excited to see where you take ATLOCK from here, Anmol!!🙌🏻
thanks for the appreciation.
and yeah be the part of Akhouri Systems community
by the way today is ATLOCK_v5 release date.
to be launched within 1 hour.
hope you will download it and try.
13 tuổi đã ship được sản phẩm thực tế lên tay người dùng và giữ được lời hứa — đó mới là điều khiến tôi nể服. Nhiều dev già hơn còn mãi "chuẩn bị", "học thêm", "chờ sẵn sàng" mà không bao giờ bấm publish.
Tò mò chút về side quest: ATLOCK v5 dùng stack gì? Có hit wall nào về performance hay platform-specific behavior khi scale từ vài chục user lên 1k không? Những bài học "hard way" ở tuổi này thường quý hơn bất kỳ cert nào.
Tiếp tục ship nhé — community cần nhiều builder hành động như bạn PS: the tool I meant is on labagent .tech
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