Ask OS X Daily: How do I lock a Mac OS X workstation?
April 23rd, 2007 - Ask OS X Daily, How to, Mac OS X, Security, Tips & Tricks
Reader Adam Smith writes in with the following question: “I am a new Mac user, and I love OSX! I have a MacBook Pro 15″. I would like to know though, is there a way that you can lock a MAC? Like in Windows, you can hit the shortcut “Windows Key + L”. Is there something similar in Mac or is there a script you can write? It’s just so I can leave my Mac while its doing stuff, lock it, so that no one else can play around with it. Thank you for your time.”
Yes there is! Mac OS X doesn’t have an active workstation lock quite in the same manner as Windows, but you can still lock your Mac’s workstation and require a password for all users to access the machine. Here’s how:
Lock an active Mac OS X workstation
The easiest way to lock down your Mac is by using a screen saver and password protecting it. Here’s how in three easy steps:
Select a Screen Saver - First, you’ll need to select a screen saver to activate. Open System Preferences and click the “Desktop & Screen Saver” icon. Pick any screen saver.
Enable a Hot Corner - In the same preference pane, click on the “Hot Corners…” button in the bottom corner of the pane. Select a “Hot Corner” - where you want the screen saver to be activated by dragging your cursor into that corner.
Enable Password Protection - Now you’ll need to password protect your screen saver. Navigate back to System Preferences and this time select the “Security” icon. Ignore all the FileVault settings, about halfway in the pane there is a check box for “Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver” - click the box next to it so a check appears.
Try it out - Now anytime you drag your mouse cursor into the activated Hot Corner, you will activate the screen saver, which requires a password to return to the desktop. Also, if your machine is put to sleep it will bring about the same password prompt.
To further secure your Mac workstation, you can also require a password on system boot. Doing so is easy, just check the Login Options under the Accounts preference pane. It’s pretty self explanatory but if anyone wants a full walkthrough let us know.
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Comments:
Comments: 19
Comment from Weaver
Time: April 23, 2007, 12:48 am
I remember it was easy to do this in system 9 but I never could figure out how to do it in Mac OS X. It seems like Apple unintentionally hid the option in the Security preferences rather than putting it in the ScreenSaver where it would be more appropriate.
Another great tip, I immediately implemented this one.
Comment from bryanl
Time: April 23, 2007, 9:34 am
1. open up keychain access preferences
2. choose show status in menu bar. this will place a lock on the menubar
3. click the lock on the menubar and choose “lock screen”
sometimes i want my screensaver to come on without the machine locking
Comment from Brett Johson
Time: April 23, 2007, 12:18 pm
You can also use Fast User Switching, which allows multiple users to be logged in via the GUI at the same time. I use this to “lock” my login - allowing others to use the computer, while my state is preserved and my background computing tasks continue cranking. I prefer it to a locking screen saver in situations where a machine might be shared.
To enable Fast User Switching:
Goto “System Preferences”->Accounts.
Click the padlock in the lower left to enable changes.
Select “Login Options”
Check “Enable Fast User Switching”
To “Lock” the system:
Click on your name on the right side of the menu bar,
and select “Login Window…”
To “Unlock” the system:
If the system is still at “Login Window”, just log in as yourself.
GUI access to your workspace will be restored
If another user is logged in, click on their name on the right end
of the menu bar, and select yourself to switch-to. You will be
prompted for your password.
Comment from Christopher
Time: April 23, 2007, 4:18 pm
Also, if you’d like to get the fast user switching effect without having to enable it, such as if you are the only user of your computer, then there are a handful of dashboard widgets and probably some standalone apps that do the trick. I prefer the widget “Locker” which is a little lock icon that sits in your dashboard, when double clicked, it gives you a fast-user-switching-esque rotating desktop effect and takes you to the standard login screen. That’s all. I hope this is of some help.
Comment from Scott
Time: April 30, 2007, 11:21 am
You could also set up the computer to require a password to wake from sleep and press
to fast sleep the computer.
I use this all the time.
I dislike hot spots on my screen.
PS shuts down the mac.
Comment from Scott
Time: April 30, 2007, 11:25 am
Previous post contained a character the website did not like,
What I meant:
You could also set up the computer to require a password to wake from sleep and press
command option eject to fast sleep the computer.
I use this all the time.
I dislike hot spots on my screen.
PS command option control eject shuts down the mac.
Pingback from Pauked.com » How to lock Mac OS X
Time: November 25, 2007, 12:17 pm
[...] Edit: Damnit looks like OS X Daily has the same info as my post. [...]
Comment from kathy kirkham
Time: January 22, 2008, 8:45 pm
I locked my desktop items somehow on my imac and dont rember what i did , now i cant drag items , anyone know how iunlock it again? much appreciated , kathy
Comment from Kenneth Benedict
Time: January 28, 2008, 8:38 pm
How would one make OS 9 a locking screen saver?
Comment from JEREMY
Time: February 29, 2008, 2:57 pm
I FORGOT MY MC PASSWORD HOW DO I FIND IT AND WIN I PRESS THE OPTION KEY ITS ALSO LOCKED WHAT DO I DO PLEASE CAN YOU HELP.
Comment from edwin Islas
Time: May 27, 2008, 3:42 pm
i forgot my password and i cant reset my laptop . because i need a admistrader and password and i forgot every thing please help me .
Comment from laura
Time: October 1, 2008, 5:00 am
I forgot my password and can’t start my iBook from the CD. How do I loose the login window? Is there any combination keys for loosing the login window?
Comment from HandyMacApps
Time: October 8, 2008, 1:11 pm
You can use also use this simple application to lock your screen with your account login details.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/screenlock.html
Comment from Terry Harmer
Time: October 8, 2008, 1:15 pm
To reset your account password, boot your mac from an OS X system disk and run the Change Password Tool under the Utilities menu.
Comment from ryuhoo
Time: December 5, 2008, 5:12 pm
Thank You
Comment from Dave
Time: February 16, 2009, 7:27 pm
i’m a new mac user, i have the 13″ unibody macbook.
my personal trick for user switching is great, useful, and not too hard to set up.
i have butler installed on my mac. for those of you who don’t know, it lets you set hot corners and keyboard shortcuts for anything you want.
control+option+L on my mac, user switching. works great.
control+option+up and control+option+down adjust my iTunes volume and tell me what’s currently playing.
just to add humor, control+option+delete launches parallels. if you can’t tell, i’ve been trapped in windows for a little while.
Pingback from Jonathan’s blog » Mac OS X security flaw?
Time: June 12, 2009, 7:59 am
[...] Enable locking the screen after waking from sleep or screensaver [...]
Comment from Fird
Time: June 12, 2009, 6:37 pm
@Brett Johson: Thank you so much for the tip!
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April 23rd, 2007
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