Probably one of the most overlooked areas yet can cause some serious damage for you, your business and your contacts.
Unwanted Attention With Unlocked Screens
Let’s say you’re at the office or working from home and you need to go to the other side of the room quickly, screen left unlocked on your laptop or computer for a few seconds while you’re able to keep an eye on it, no harm done.
What would you do if you needed to leave the room and the device unattended?
What harm could it do if you left the screen unlocked?
You could argue it depends on who’s in the nearby vicinity however think on how long it could take for someone to edit or save something they shouldn’t have access to and how much that could potentially cost you – financially or in the way of reputation – if it got into the wrong hands (even if someone did it as a prank).
As computers are able to do more actions at once it’s too convenient to stay signed into systems – sometimes indefinitely – making it easier for someone else to get the “keys to the kingdom” without having to verify their identity if the opportunity arose unchallenged.
Needless to say, the more public the place you leave a laptop (or a mobile/tablet) unattended and unlocked the greater the risk to the safety of your data.
How to solve this? The classic Ctrl, Alt Delete and Lock option is a winner and there’s a quicker combo of Windows Key and L for Windows 11 devices. The Mac equivalent is Control + Command + Q
Screensavers
There is an option as well to lock the device automatically after a period of inactivity, those of you old enough to remember the classic screensavers on Windows (originally designed to help prolong the life of monitors pre-LCD) will be glad to hear the option is still there in Windows 11 and there’s an option to have to unlock the device when the screensaver which is activated after a period of inactivity. This can be easily accessed by going into Settings and search for Lock Screen or right-click on an empty space on the desktop and select Personalization on the pop-up menu then select Lock Screen.
It’s worth noting if you are ever considering the cyber essentials certification then having this enabled on your devices is a requirement for the award.
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