Why lock workstation

The University of Illinois Springfield seeks to ensure that users of information technology follow best practices. One such practice would be to lock your workstation while stepping away from your machine e. Some instances of misuse could be:. By locking your workstation, all opened documents and running applications continue to run and will be accessible once you login again with your NetID and UIS email password.

There are two ways to lock your workstation: through a password-protected screensaver, or by locking it manually when you step away from your keyboard. Skip to main content. You shouldn't be able to start up or wake up your computer or other devices without entering a password.

If you can, auto-login may be on. Manually shut down, log off, or lock your device before leaving it unattended. Consider turning these on to protect information in the case of theft or loss. Back to Minimum Requirements Main Page. In addition to that, communication may be subject to a non-disclosure between you and the client. Locking your computer while you are away will help protect confidential documents and communication.

Not locking your computer is like surrendering access of your files, whether personal, confidential or public to unauthorized persons. This means that anyone can gain access to your computer and modify, remove or even share data from your computer.

Locking your computer after use will prevent such incidence. To manually lock your computer's screen, complete the following steps. For computers running Windows 7. To Lock: There are three different ways to manually lock your screen on a Windows 7 computer: Method 1: On your keyboard, hold down the Windows Logo Icon key and the L key on the keyboard at the same time. Method 2: Using the Start Menu on the computer screen: Open the Start Menu by clicking on the Windows Logo icon, usually located in the lower left of the screen.

Then click on the arrow next to the List of shutdown options. Then choose Lock in the popup list. Then, select Lock this computer from the options that appear on the screen.

For computers running Windows