If you leave your computer without locking, any individuals can go through your files and make unnecessary changes. While this situation may rarely occur, it is always better to be safe than sorry. So, here are the possible ways you can lock your computer in Windows or Mac.
How to Lock Your Windows Computer?
Windows computers offer various methods to lock your computer. From the auto-locking of dynamic lock to the most common keyboard shortcut locking, here are the possible ways to lock your Windows computer.
Using Keyboard Shortcut
One of the most common methods of locking your computer is by using keyboard shortcuts. Many people who regularly use keyboard shortcuts should be familiar with this method. The shortcut is Windows + L hotkey, which will immediately lock your computer.
Ctrl + Alt + Del Screen
The Ctrl + Alt + Del key combination will show you the option of locking your computer with various other options. Click on the Lock option to lock your computer. If the Lock option doesn’t appear, follow these steps:
Using the Start Menu
Locking your computer from the start menu is the simplest way to lock Windows. Here’s how you can do it:
Using Command line
Another way you can lock your computer is through the command line. While this method is a bit longer than the above two, it is just as effective as any other method on this list. Follow the steps below to perform this method:
Auto-Lock From Screen Saver
Screen saver is another great way of locking your computer. It automatically locks your computer after a period of inactivity. Furthermore, you can even customize the time after which Windows locks up. Here’s how you can do it:
Setup a Dynamic Lock
A dynamic lock is one of the more advanced ways of locking your computer. It uses Bluetooth to pair with your mobile or any other device, and as soon as the paired device leaves the vicinity of the computer, it will automatically lock itself. However, you need to have Bluetooth constantly enabled and paired with your computer for this function to work as intended. Follow the steps below to set up a dynamic lock:
How to Lock Your Mac Computer?
Mac has similar methods of locking the computer compared to Windows. Furthermore, they are also very easy to perform. Here are the possible ways you can lock your Mac computer.
Using Keyboard Shortcut
Mac also features many keyboard shortcuts, and you can press the Control + Command + Q buttons to lock your computer immediately. If you want to put your Mac to sleep, you can use the Command + Option + Power button shortcut key. Mac computers have a default setting for locking your screen when put into sleep mode, so this shortcut performs the same function. If you have disabled this default setting, sleep mode will not lock your Mac computer.
Using Hot Corners
Hot corners are a neat feature in Mac that lets you perform a predetermined function when the mouse cursor goes to a particular corner. Here’s how you can set it to lock your computer:
Using Auto-Timeout Function
Your Mac computer will automatically put itself into sleep mode after some period of inactivity. You can customize this setting to lock your screen from one minute of inactivity to never locking your screen. However, you must first ensure the default setting of sleep mode locking the computer is enabled. Here’s how you can perform this method:
Using Terminal
You can also use terminal commands to lock your Mac computer. To do so, follow the steps below:
