UIS Tip of the Week: Locking Your Computer for Safety

You’re trying to get a project finished by the end of the day, but you keep getting called away from your computer. First, you have to get a Snickers bar, then you have to join the discussion about Lost, then you have some tedious staff meeting—the interruptions never stop You don’t want to shut everything down each time you step away, but leaving your computer unprotected is a serious security risk. If you leave your computer unprotected, anyone could steal confidential and sensitive data, such as medical and financial records, internal reports, etc. And if you’ve logged into your Georgetown e-mail, GUShare, or GUCalendar, anyone could potentially access your e-mail messages, personal appointments, and all your files.

Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to protect your computer (without shutting everything down).

Locking your computer

It takes no time at all to lock your computer, and it’s well worth the effort to protect everything on your computer while you’re away from your desk. You won’t have to shut everything down, and will only have to log back in with your NetID and password when you’re back at your desk.

To lock your computer, just press Ctrl + Alt + Delete (while you press and hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys, press the Delete key), and then click Lock Computer.

Setting your Computer to Lock Automatically

Right-click anywhere in the Desktop area of your computer, select Properties, click the Screen Saver tab, and then select the option on resume, password protect.

So when you move your mouse or press a key on your keyboard after you computer goes into “screen saver” mode (this happens if you haven’t used your computer at all after a few minutes), your computer will be locked automatically. You’ll then have to log in again.

Doing this is very helpful if you get up from your desk frequently, but forget to lock your computer.