In Mac OS X terminology this shortcut puts the display immediately to sleep. A website listing this and other shortcuts can be found here This entry was posted in digital, english, macosx, security and tagged keyboard, osx, shorcut. Apr 23, 2018 - For older versions of the operating system, press Control+Shift+Power button (or Control+Shift+Eject if your Mac has an optical drive). It will lock the screen. You can also use a keyboard shortcut to put your Mac to sleep. Press Command+Option+Power (or Eject).
There are many users who often have to switch between Windows and Mac OS X. For instance, some of you might have installed Windows on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant or without Boot Camp software and frequently switch between two operating systems.
As you know, on Mac OS X, we use Command + L hotkey to select address bar in web browsers. After using Mac OS X for a while, when you switch back to your PC, you end up pressing Windows (Command key on Mac) + L keys hoping to select the address bar or URL bar in web browsers. But when you’re running Windows, as you know, pressing Windows (Command key on Mac) + L shortcut key locks down the system and takes you to the lock screen (in Windows 10/8) or logon screen (in Windows 7 and previous versions).
If you’re addicted to keyboard shortcuts, you probably have been experiencing this annoyance whenever you switch back to PC from Mac. Although it’s possible to change the default keyboard shortcut to select the address bar under Keyboard settings in recent versions of Mac OS X, disabling Windows + L keyboard shortcut in Windows is a better option if you spend more time on Mac than PC or if you rarely use the Windows + L hotkey to lock down your PC.
Disabling Windows logo + L keyboard shortcut
In Windows, one can disable Windows logo + L keyboard shortcut by editing Windows Registry. Complete the given below instructions to completely disable Windows logo + L keyboard shortcut in Windows:
NOTE: We advise you create a manual system restore point before proceeding further so that you can quickly revert to original settings with a few mouse clicks.
Step 1: Open Run dialog by simultaneously pressing Windows logo and R (Win+R) keys. If you’re on a Mac machine, press Command + R to see Run dialog box.
Step 2: In the Run dialog, type Regedit.exe and then press enter key. Click Yes button when you’re prompted with the User Account Control (UAC) screen.
Step 3: Once Registry Editor is launched, navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem
Step 4: In the right-side, create a new DWORD 32-bit value and rename it as DisableLockWorkstation.
Step 5: Double-click on the newly created DisableLockWorkstation entry and change its value from 0 (zero) to 1 (one).
Step 6: From now onwards, when you press Windows + L hotkey, Windows neither takes you to the lock/logon screen nor locks down the PC. Good luck!
NOTE: In order to restore Windows + L hotkey functionality, just navigate to the above mentioned registry key and then delete DisableLockWorkstation entry. That’s it!
How to install Google Web Fonts in Windows and Mac without using third-party tools guide might also interest you.
There are a number of different ways to lock or sleep your screen in macOS. Before we show them to you, however, it’s important to make the distinction between locking your screen and just putting it to sleep.
If you lock your Mac you’ll put it to sleep and need to type in your login password on your Mac’s lock screen (or unlock it with TouchID on a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, or with an Apple Watch). If you put it to sleep, you won’t necessarily lock it. In order to lock your screen, you need to set up the password in System Preferences. Here’s how to do that.
How to set up a password to lock the screen
- Launch System Preferences either by clicking on its icon in the Dock or by choosing it from the Apple menu.
- Click on the Security & Privacy pane.
- Choose the General tab and check the option that starts ‘Require password…’
- Choose an option from the dropdown menu.
Now, whenever your Mac goes to sleep or a screensaver starts, it will lock and you’ll have to authenticate with your user password, Apple Watch or TouchID to gain access.
Worried about your Mac’s security in public places? Get Beepify, a Setapp app that protects your Mac from theft.
Download Beepify FreeHow to lock your Mac
If you have a MacBook, a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro, the quickest and easiest way to lock your Mac is just to shut the lid. When you do that, the Mac goes to sleep and when you open it again you’ll need to unlock it.
However, there are occasions when you’ll want to prevent anyone from seeing the screen without actually closing it. And, in any case, if you have an iMac, Mac mini or Mac Pro, it’s not an option. Here are some other ways you can lock your Mac’s display.
1. Use Apple menu
Go to the Apple menu and choose Sleep. This will display the login screen for your account and won’t unlock with a password (unless you’re wearing an Apple Watch when you do it and then it will lock and unlock immediately)
Tip: If you want your Mac to remain locked even when you’re close by and you have an Apple Watch, go to System Preferences>Security & Privacy>General and uncheck the Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac option.
2. Use shortcuts
If you’re using a Mac that’s running macOS Catalina, go to the Apple menu and choose Lock Screen or press Command+Control+Q. This will lock your Mac and return you to the Login screen.
For older versions of the operating system, press Control+Shift+Power button (or Control+Shift+Eject if your Mac has an optical drive). It will lock the screen.
You can also use a keyboard shortcut to put your Mac to sleep. Press Command+Option+Power (or Eject). This works in a similar way to the previous one, but rather than just lock your Mac it powers down the hard drive, puts the CPU into low power mode and stops background tasks in order to save energy.
3. Set up a hot corner
![Mac Mac](http://www.macyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/012713-lockscreen-screen3.jpg)
Hot corners allow you to drag to the mouse pointer to one of the four corners of the screen to initiate an action – you can use one as a sleep shortcut on your Mac. To set it up:
- Launch System Preferences.
- Choose the Desktop & Screen Saver pane.
- Click the Hot Corners button at the bottom right of the window.
- In the drop down window, choose a corner.
- Click on the menu and choose either Start Screen Saver or Put Display to Sleep.
4. Use fast user switching
Fast user switching allows you to quickly log into another user account on your Mac. But you can also use it to return to the log in window, which locks your Mac. Got to System Preferences>Users & Groups and click the padlock, then type in your password. Click Login Options and check the box next to ‘Show fast user switch menu as.’ You can also choose whether to show the menu as your full name, the account name or an icon.
To lock your Mac, click the fast user switching menu at the right of the menu bar and choose Login Window…
5. Add Keychain Access to the menu bar
This option was removed in macOS Mojave but works on versions before High Sierra:
- Go to Finder.
- Choose Applications > Utilities.
- Launch Keychain Access.
- Click in the Keychain Access menu and select Preferences.
- Check the box next to Show keychain status in menu bar.
- You’ll see a lock in the Finder menu bar. Click it and choose Lock Screen to lock your Mac.
Other ways to protect your privacy
First of all, fet a Finder-like Terminal for Mac that will help you completely control the login settings. It’s called MacPilot. The app covers over 1,200 hidden macOS features. For privacy, you can go into the Login tab and customize access by users, enable the option of automatic screen locking, and edit launch items.
If you’re looking for physical protection of your Mac, Beepify is the app you need. Whenever you have to step away from the computer in a public place, activate Beepify and it will be set to produce a loud sound in case someone tries to close the screen or disconnect charger.
One of the main reasons for locking your Mac when you step away from it is to stop prying eyes accessing your files, browser history, or anything else you don’t want them to see. CleanMyMac X has a tool that gives you even more privacy protection.
CleanMyMac’s Privacy tool allows you to quickly delete your browser history in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. But it also allows you to delete message threads and attachments in Messages, and to remove entries from macOS’ recent files lists.
Also, CleanMyMac’s Shredder is a quick and easy way to securely delete sensitive data. You can download CleanMyMac for free and give it a try.
As you can see, putting your Mac to sleep or locking it is very easy. There are lots of different ways to do it, although some are dependent on the version of macOS you’re using. If you regularly lock your Mac to prevent others accessing it, you should ensure your login password is strong and secure.
Finally, if privacy is important, CleanMyMac has a couple of tools that can help delete sensitive data.