Mac OS X: locking your screen, without a screen saver password

2007-07-26 17:41:00

This afternoon my buddy Edmond came up to me with an interesting predicament. He runs Mac OS X on his Macbook and would like to:

A) have a password-less screen saver

B) have the ability to lock his screen with a password

Usually one simply uses screen saver passwords to achieve goal B, but Ed was adamant that he wanted A as well. Not something you often see, right? Initially I thought it wouldn't be possible, but then I had a flash of insight. It's possible! Here's how...

1. Open "System Preferences". Go into "Security".

2. Uncheck the box marked "Require password to wake...".

3. Open "Keychain Access". Open its preferences window.

4. Check the box marked "Show status in menu bar".

5. A padlock appears in your menu bar.

From now on you can lock your screen by clicking on the padlock and selecting "Lock screen". And you can still use your screen saver and go back into the OS without a password. The only downside to this is that one can also wake up your system from sleep without a password. Not something I'd like to have if my laptop was ever stolen.


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