nHide - Hide Any Application in a Few Clicks

Hide means to keep something secret, like the fact that you don't really love your mom's meatloaf. But it also means to stay out of sight, such as when a bankrobber hides behind a wall. It can also refer to something physical, like a stain on a sofa that you hide with a pillow. People hide feelings, such as anger or fear, from others. And objects can be hidden, too, such as a bike that you put in the shed or an old movie on your shelf.

While you can use a registry editor to hide individual programs, it's a complicated process, and it's easy to make mistakes that can hamper other apps on your system. A better solution is a reliable third-party program that can help you hide any application in a few clicks. The free nHide can do exactly that.

Once you install the program, a small icon will appear in the notification area. Click it to open the settings menu and configure what happens when you single-click, double-click or press a hotkey button. You can even set up a password for showing a window, closing an app or opening its preferences dialog.

The program also allows you to disable the "Favorite Tags" feature in Finder, which shows your most frequently used tags in a special grouping in the Control-click menu. This will stop other users from accessing those files without your permission. Unlike minimizing a program, hiding it removes its windows and tool palettes from the desktop. To bring them back, you have to open the program again.