Geek Posted January 21, 2011 Posted January 21, 2011 <div class="KonaBody"><p><img src="http://osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/password-protect-mac.jpg" alt="password protect mac" title="password protect mac" width="200" height="208" class="alignright size-full wp-image-11899" /> There are several steps to password protect a Mac, we’ll cover the essentials so that if someone is to turn on your Mac, wake it from a screensaver, or wake from sleep, they will be required to enter a password in order to use the computer.</p> <h2 style="font-size:1.2em;">Password protect system boot</h2> <p>This will require a password on system boot before anyone can use the Mac</p> <ul> <li>Open “System Preferences”</li> <li>Click on “Accounts”</li> <li>Click on “Login Options” in the left corner of the Accounts window</li> <li>You may need to enter the administrator password to make changes here, in that case click on the lock icon in the lower left corner</li> <li>Under Login Options, set “Automatic login” to “Off”</li> <li>Optional security measure: set “Display login window as” to “Name and password” – this will require someone to enter a name and a password into a blank field, providing no hints for usernames</li> <li>Click the lock icon again to prevent any further changes</li> </ul> <p><img src="http://osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/password-protect-mac-boot.jpg" alt="password protect mac boot" title="password protect mac boot" width="610" height="205" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-11904" /></p> <p>Now anytime your Mac boots, a user login screen will appear before anyone can access the desktop or your files. If you’re into tweaking things, this <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/01/03/customize-mac-login-screen/">login screen can be customized</a> rather easily with a unique background, message, and logo.</p> <p>Now this password protects your Mac on boot, but let’s also password protect your Mac when waking from sleep and waking from a screensaver. <span id="more-11896"></span></p> <h2 style="font-size:1.2em;">Password protect a Mac screensaver and when waking from sleep</h2> <p>We’ve sort of covered this tip before when showing you how to <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/01/17/lock-screen-mac/">lock a Mac screen</a> using a keyboard shortcut, so you may already have this enabled:</p> <ul> <li>Open System Preferences</li> <li>Click on “Security”</li> <li>Under the “General” tab, select the checkbox next to “Require password after sleep or screen saver begins”</li> <li>Optional security measure: set this to require a password immediately, otherwise set the amount of time you are comfortable with</li> <li>Exit System Preferences</li> </ul> <p><img src="http://osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/password-protect-mac-screensaver-and-from-sleep-wake.jpg" alt="password protect mac screensaver and from sleep wake" title="password protect mac screensaver and from sleep wake" width="593" height="162" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-11897" /></p> <p>Now anytime your Mac activates a screensaver or is put to sleep, you will need to enter a password to gain access to it again. You can also use the keystroke <strong>Shift+Control+Eject</strong> to activate the password lock screen immediately.</p> <p>If you’ve somehow managed to <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2010/08/10/forgot-mac-password-how-to-reset-mac-password/">forget your Macs password, you can learn how to reset it</a> using a variety of measures. </p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/G-7us4go4plaIJ5EX5GLav2Tcf0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/G-7us4go4plaIJ5EX5GLav2Tcf0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/G-7us4go4plaIJ5EX5GLav2Tcf0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/G-7us4go4plaIJ5EX5GLav2Tcf0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=hNsBsRp8MaQ:ynDDUEXIz7A:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=hNsBsRp8MaQ:ynDDUEXIz7A:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?i=hNsBsRp8MaQ:ynDDUEXIz7A:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=hNsBsRp8MaQ:ynDDUEXIz7A:D7DqB2pKExk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?i=hNsBsRp8MaQ:ynDDUEXIz7A:D7DqB2pKExk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=hNsBsRp8MaQ:ynDDUEXIz7A:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=hNsBsRp8MaQ:ynDDUEXIz7A:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/osxdaily/~4/hNsBsRp8MaQ" height="1" width="1"/> View the full article
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