Information Technology Services

Securing Your Computer

Do you walk away from your desk or your office without locking your computer? It only takes a few seconds for someone to do serious damage to your computer or your files or to access information on the computer. It takes only a few seconds to secure your computer. Take the time to lock your computer when you leave your desk. Not sure how to do it? There are two methods to do this: one to lock down the computer and one to set a password protected screensaver. You should use both methods outlined below for your operating system. Click on the operating system that is currently loaded on your computer.

To Lock Down Your Computer

• Windows XP
• Windows 2000
• Linux with KDE Desktop
• Linux with Gnome Desktop

To Set a Password Protected Screen Saver

• Windows Vista
• Windows 2000/XP
• Macintosh OS 10.0 - 10.2
• Macintosh OS 10.3
• Linux with KDE Desktop
• Linux with Gnome Desktop

To lock down Windows XP

1. Click Ctrl+Alt+Delete
2. Select 'Lock Workstation'
3. This will bring up your login screen and lock your computer down.

Windows XP has a shortcut that will automatically lock your computer: Click the Windows key (the flying window key at the bottom of the key board and the L key . This will bring up your login screen and lock your computer down.

1. To log back in, type Ctrl+Alt+Delete if necessary, and type in your user ID and password .

To lock down Windows 2000

1. Click Ctrl+Alt+Delete
2. Select 'Lock Workstation'
3. This will bring up your login screen and lock your computer down.
4. To log back in, type Ctrl+Alt+Delete if necessary, and type in your user ID and password.

To lock down most Linux distributions with the KDE desktop

1. Click on the K icon on the task bar, usually located at the lower left of the screen
2. Choose either Log Off to log out of the session or Lock Screen to start the screen saver and require a password to get back in.

• An alternative method is to click on any clear space on the desktop and choose either Log Out or Lock Screen.

To lock down most Linux Distributions with the Gnome desktop

1. Go to the top left side of the desktop screen and choose the Actions menu
2. Choose Lock Screen

To Set a Password Protected Screensaver It's is recommended that for additional protection (when you leave your desk and forget to lock down your computer) that you set a password protected screensaver.

For Windows Vista

1. Go to the Start button, click on Control Panel
2. Click on Appearance and Personalization
3. Click "Change Screen Saver"
4. Check the box that says "On resume, display Logon Screen"
5. Set the Wait time to 10 minutes
6. Click OK to save settings

For Windows 2000 or XP :

1. Right click on your desktop. A drop down menu box will appear. Select Properties. See Fig. 1

Figure 1

2. The display properties for the desktop will appear. Click on the Screensaver tab. See Fig. 2

Figure 2

3. Click the arrow on the drop down list for "Screen saver." Select the screen saver you would like.

4. Click the up/down arrows on the "Wait" box to set the time lapse before your screen saver starts. Ten minutes is a good choice.

5. Check the box in front of "On resume, password protect." If you have Windows 2000, it may just say "Password Protect."

6. Click "OK" or "Apply" and close out of the Display Properties Box.

7. To login when your screen saver is running, you can either move your mouse, hit the enter key or click Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Any of these will bring up your login screen. Type in your Novell or Windows password, click OK or hit the enter key and you will be logged in to your computer.

Alternative Method:

You can also reach the "Display Properties" box by

1. Clicking "Start" in the taskbar at the bottom of the desktop screen and click on "Control Panel." See fig. 3

Figure 3

2. A window will appear that will have many icons or a list of items. Click on the "Display" icon or the "Display" in the list. See fig. 4.

Figure 4

To set a screen saver for the Macintosh OS 10.3 and higher

1. Open System Preferences
2. Click Security
3. Check the box "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver"

To set a screen saver for the Macintosh OS 10.0 - 10.3

Open System Preferences (the same as Control Panel in the previous versions of the Mac OS)

1. Click on the Security icon.
2. Check the "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver" field.
3. Return to the System Preferences and choose the Desktop and Screen Saver icon
4. Select the Screen Saver tab
5. Set the amount of time you want to pass before the screen saver starts (10 minutes is a good limit)
6. Click on the Hot Corners button to set the corner you have to move the mouse to for the screen saver to start instantly

When the screen saver activates after the required time period has lapsed and/or you want to unlock your computer move the mouse, click on a key to logon to your computer.

To set a screen saver for most Linux distributions with a KDE desktop

1. To set the screen saver, go to the KDE Control Center
2. Choose Appearance and Themes
3. Choose Screen Saver
4. Check the "Start Screen Saver Automatically"
5. Check the "Require Password to Stop Screen Saver"
6. Click the "Apply" button

To set a screen saver for most Linux Distributions with a Gnome desktop

1. Go to the top left side of the desktop screen and choose the Applications menu
2. Choose Desktop Preferences
3. Choose Screen Savers
4. Choose the Display Modes tab
5. Click 'Lock Screen After' and set the amount of time for the computer to be idle before the screen saver activates (Ten minutes is a good rule of thumb)
6. Close the panel for the changes to take effect

All copyrights protected.

Written By: Theresa Semmens and Clark Coffman,

Revised September 16, 2008