Screen locks offer your devices an important extra layer of security. Each time you want to unlock your device or switch it on, you’ll be asked to enter a PIN, password or fingerprint. This means that if someone gets hold of your device they can’t easily access the data that's on it.
You should always lock your device when you leave it or put it down, but it's worth ensuring that it automatically locks itself just in case you forget. If you're using a University managed device then automatic locking is already configured. For instructions on how to configure automatic locking on other devices please see below.
Remember: You can lock a Windows device manually at any time by pressing Windows key + L on the keyboard.
You can lock your Mac manually at any time by pressing Command + Option + Power simultaneously. Providing you have Require password immediately after sleep or screen saver begins enabled (as described above) the password will then be needed to unlock the device.
The following instructions are based on Ubuntu 14.04. Other Linux distros may be similar but not identical.
You can lock your Linux machine manually at any time by clicking on the system menu in the menu bar and selecting Lock Screen.
You can lock your iOS device manually at any time by pressing the Sleep/Wake button.
The following instructions are based on the stock version of Android 5 Lollipop. Other versions of the Android operating system may be similar but not identical.
Android 5 Lollipop introduced a new Smart Lock feature.
This allows the phone to automatically disable your device password/passcode under certain conditions (eg when at home or when paired with a smartwatch).
This feature should be switched off.
The following instructions are based on the stock version of Android 5 Lollipop. Other versions of the Android operating system may be similar but not identical.
Please note, not all Android 5 devices will necessarily offer the Smart Lock feature.