On older versions of Windows, open the Control Panel by hitting ⊞ Win and selecting “Control Panel”. If you do not see it listed, enter “Control Panel” into the search bar and select it from the results.
On older versions of Windows, select “User Accounts” from the Control Panel. Windows 10 and 8 require account passwords for their accounts when they are created. Users on older versions can go to “Make Changes to Your User Account” and click “Create a password” next to the account profile in use.
PINs can only be numeric. PINs will be used in place of passwords when logging in or unlocking your computer.
You can modify the time it takes for your display to automatically sleep (thus locking it) by going to “Settings > System > Power and Sleep”. Select your desired time period from the dropdown menu under “Screen”. Note that you will need to adjust this time limit for both ‘plugged in’ and ‘on battery’ states for laptops. The computer will also lock if your computer enters Sleep mode. The time to enter sleep can be modified at “Settings > System > Power and Sleep” under the “Sleep” header.
You can also launch it from the launchpad or quick launch bar at the bottom of the screen. Users running a recent version of MacOS or OSX will have had to create a password when setting up their computer. Users running older versions can create a password by going to “Accounts” in the “System Preferences” and selecting “Change Password” next to the user account.
You can select other time limits before a password is required from the dropdown menu. This can be useful if you want to be able to return from a display sleep quickly without entering your password. However, “Immediately” is the only option that effectively ‘locks’ your computer on command.
This feature was removed for Administrator accounts on OSX 10. 10 and later. Optionally, you can click the Lock icon again to relock these changes, but they will be saved either way.
If your mac has an optical (CD/DVD) drive you can use Ctrl+⇧ Shift+⏏ Eject to perform the same action.
