5 New Ways To Lock Your Mac’s Screen For Added Security, Fun, And Coolness

Think about all those valuable files that sit on your Mac. Photos, music, movies, documents, contacts, calendar, email.

Are your files worth protecting? Of course they are. So, is your Mac’s screen protected when you’re away or traveling? Here are more ways to lock your Mac’s screen (some free, some fun).

Swipe Me, Baby, One More Time

Protecting your Mac while you step away for awhile is easy. Two words: Screensaver lock. Mac users have dozens of security options; most of them with a hefty price tag.

When it comes to scurrilous acts against your Mac, a little deterrence goes a long, long way.

Let’s take a look at five simple Mac apps that lock the screen when you’re gone. Most are inexpensive and some are remarkably fun and cool to use.

First on the list is Lock Screen. It locks the Mac’s screen by keyboard hotkeys, after idle time, before sleep, and more.

This clever little app also features custom wallpapers, custom unlock sounds, and special slide-to-unlock text or a pattern.

Take a look.

Don’t confuse that Lock Screen with this Lock Screen which has a unique swipe unlock pattern on the screen (use the trackpad).

There’s a Pro version of Lock Screen (the latter, not the former) which costs a dollar more and gives weather conditions, message posting, battery meter, and other functions such as an iTunes player, and a display of incoming email.

Locker is the least feature rich, but the easiest to setup and use. It lives in the Menubar. Click it as you leave your Mac and it locks the screen.

Screen Lock is similarly priced but also has the added feature of enabling the screen to lock with a global hotkey.

Notice how cleverly named all the screen locking apps are?

One of the more interesting of the screen lock apps doesn’t really lock the screen. BabyProof locks the keys on the Mac. Click a key and nothing happens.

That means you can watch something on your Mac while a toddler is nearby and not worry (much) should the wayward child begin jumping up and down on the keyboard. The movie keeps running. They keys don’t do anything (except maybe break).

The Mac App Store is loaded with these one-trick or sometimes four or five trick screen locking apps. Your Mac gets a little extra security, and you get a little extra peace of mind.

From Appletown

Kate has A Few Words About An Easier, Faster, Better Way To Use Calendar On Your iPhone Or iPad. Ron asks the question everyone is asking. How Do You Find And Dispose Of iTunes Dupes? Duh. Dupe Away, My Friend. Dupe Away!

On a lighter note, and one that's certainly more fun, Tera shows us How To Use Your iPhone To Scare Store Employees When You Shop. The folks at Boomer show us How Shopping For Bargains Starts With What’s In Your Hand (plus Want, Need, Love). And, just in case you forgot, here's How To Use Your Mac And Scapple To Learn To Think Visually, Take Freeform Notes, And Mind Map.

Overlording It

Mac360's free app reviews, news, and commentary are supported by your kind attention to the nearby sponsoring overlords and their mostly benign, non-contagious, sometimes animated messages (like a visual vibrator). Visiting an aforementioned overlord today helps us pay for ear wax removal services. When you help out by giving attention to any sponsor during today's visit we're able to afford nail polish (but only for one nail). Hence, we appreciate your brief visits to these necessary overlords.