Lock your Mac easily for added security

Posted on Tuesday September 01, 2015

If you left your desk now, how would you know if your Mac is secure? What if a nosy employee or passerbyer decided to snoop around on your machine when you're not around? Or what if your Mac is stolen while it's still powered on? The thief will have unlimited access to all your confidential files and data, and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it. Well, not any longer; here's how you can lock your Mac easily every time you step away from your computer.

The problem with normal password lock

As you know, the normal way to lock your Mac is by either shutting it down or logging off. So if you're simply stepping out of your office to use the bathroom, you probably don't want to waste time doing either of these to keep your desktop secure from a snooping passerbyer. So what's to do? Set up a password lock. This allows you to lock your Mac by simply putting it to sleep.

How to set up a password lock

One of the best parts about setting up a password lock on your Mac is that it's incredibly easy. To do so, click on the following:

1. System Preferences
2. Security & Privacy (located under the "Personal" group of icons)
3. General tab
4. Check the box that reads, "require password after sleep or screen saver begins"

Once you've done this, choose "immediately" from the box that lights up. Now, your Mac will lock every time it goes to sleep, and to use it again your password will need to be entered.

So, that leaves one more question. How can you easily put your Mac to sleep?

How to make your Mac go to sleep on command

There are several easy ways to do this. The first and probably the one you're most familiar with is to simply click on the Apple icon in the upper left hand corner of your screen, and then click Sleep.

If you prefer keyboard shortcuts, you can use one of the following:

1. Control + Shift + Eject - this makes only the screen go to sleep
2. Command + Option + Eject - this makes the computer go to sleep

Probably the easiest way of all is to activate Hot Corners, which allows you to put your monitor to sleep by simply moving your cursor to a specific corner of the screen. To activate this, click on the following:

1. System Preferences
2. Desktop & Screensaver
3. Screensaver
4. Hot Corners (in the bottom right hand corner)

Then choose the corner you would like to use to put your monitor to sleep, and select "Put Display to Sleep". Every time you navigate your cursor to that corner of the screen, your monitor will go to sleep and your Mac will be locked.

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