Abstract: The present invention prevents unauthorized access and modifications to programs and non-executable files, particularly a dialer program, stored on a personal computer system (PC) by providing a protected storage area on a hard drive of the PC wherein access to the protected storage area is controlled by the owner/user of the PC. Attempts to add, remove, or modify any of the programs and non-executable files in the protected storage area will result in an interrupt prompting the user to supply a valid password or other acknowledgement. A preferred embodiment includes a protected memory area as a part of the computer's internal random access memory (RAM) such that upon initialization of a program, the program and non-executable files are copied into the protected memory area from the protected storage area. The protected memory area may also be password protected to provide additional safeguards against unauthorized access.