How To Lock your Computer to Prevent Data Theft

If you are conscious about your personal stuff, before leaving your computer, use any of the three tips as mentioned below.

First up is to add a custom shortcut to your desktop. This will help you instantly lock your PC with a click. Here is how you create a desktop shortcut,

1. Right click on your desktop ->New->Shortcut – see screen-shot below,

2. A window will pop up, prompting you to type the location of the item.

3. Enter the following, %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation and click next.

4. Give a name to the shortcut, such as; LOCK-PC etc. Hit the finish button.

Now a new shortcut icon will appear on your desktop. If you double click on it, your computer will be locked instantly.

If you feel that you are as lazy as I am and can’t create a simple shortcut, then use the following procedure below to lock your PC automatically.

1. Right click on your desktop, click ‘Personalize‘ or ‘Properties‘ (in Windows XP).

2. Click on Screen Saver.

3. Check the box which says;  ‘On resume, display log-on screen‘ or ‘On resume, password protect‘ (for Windows XP).

4. Set the time in minutes and screen saver accordingly.

5. Click OK when you are done.

The next time you’ll leave your system unattended, Windows will automatically take care of locking your PC.

By far the most easiest method is that you use a keyboard shortcut combination. Simply lock it by using WindowKey+L.