Lock a Mac Screen
Lock your Mac Screen
The absolute fastest and easiest way to lock the screen in Mac OS X is with a simple keyboard shortcut: Control+Shift+Eject
Hit that key combination and your Mac screen will go dark. This also locks the Mac screen, requiring a user to enter a password before the Mac can be accessed again… if you have the setting enabled.
If you don’t have the feature enabled, here’s how to set this up on any Mac:
Enable the Lock Screen in Mac OS X
This will cause the above keyboard shortcut to lock the screen with a password:
- Launch System Preferences
- Click on “Security” and look under the “General” tab
- Click the checkbox next to “Require password after sleep or screen saver begins” – select either immediately or 5 seconds as the time interval
- Exit out of System Preferences
The Mac OS X lock screen is the same as what you see when you wake a Mac from sleep or a screensaver when this feature is enabled, so remember that if you use a screensaver that auto-activates or sleep your Mac regularly, you’ll also be entering your password.
This feature is highly recommended to enable in offices, schools, and any other environment where you may have sensitive data on your Mac that you want to keep from prying eyes.
If you happen to forget your Mac password, you can reset it through a few different methods.
I find that using expose active screen corners for this works really well also.
Very quick way to lock by dragging the mouse to the corner.
Thank you!! i never stop learning these things about my mac!!
U guys rock for publishing things like this.
[...] Source: OS X Daily [...]
Yeah… This is nice, but press the shortcut and then immediately move the mouse and you’ll be able to see the screen waked up you can see everything, control everything with the mouse, but it still asks for the password. This lock function on Macs or so buggy… To avoid accidents better use user switch and leave your mac showing the login screen.
thx
great tip with the key combo
[...] via OSXDaily [...]
I Use Expose and this is the best for upper left corner.
I use this a lot, because when i stand up and leave my mac i don’t want anybody to touch it. So upper left with the mouse and it goes black. After that when you move your mouse it asks for a pass. Thats the best option
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My Mac is set to lock after 60 min when put to sleep. Nevertheless my brother seems to be able to lock the screen instantly. Does anyone have any ideas on how he does it?
thk very nice …
[...] moving the cursor isn’t your preference, you can also setup a keyboard shortcut to lock the Mac screen. In both cases, if you have a password enabled for the lock or screensaver screen you will need to [...]
The bummer about this keystroke, is that it locks the screen AND puts the display to sleep. I really with is just locked the screen (like the option in Keychain Preference). It’s a nice tip if someone really wants to sleep their displays. Not so hot if you just need it locked. Sleeping/Waking the screen every time I leave or comeback is a major pain. I don’t understand why OSX doesn’t have an easy keyboard shortcut to just lock the screen (without doing anything else).
You could try activating a sleep corner for the screen saver only