November 23, 2001
Most of the time when you
are not using your server I assume that you log out of your computer so
that it is inaccessible from grubby little hands. However, if you
have a program that is not designed to run as a service, the program will
shut down when you log out which is a big problem. The trick that
I found was to hit "Control, Alt, Del", then select "Lock Computer" which
will basically log you out. The difference between 1. logging out
of your computer and 2. locking your computer is that authorized users
can still log into 1. while for 2. only there person who locked the computer
or an authorized administrator can unlock it. Since I now use FREEping,
which isn't designed to run as a service, I can't log out of my server
but I can still lock it for an additional measure of safety.
Here are two little tricks
to lock your computer easier and faster. No more "three finger salute"!
Trick
Number 1 - Automatically Lock Computer after a time period
Right click anywhere on the
screen and select "properties". Select the "Screen Saver" Tab.
Check the "password protected"
box. Select a time period when you want your screen saver to activate
and lock you computer. This time should not be too short otherwise
you'll constantly be logging in. Now every time your computer screen
saver kicks in, your computer will be locked until you log in again.
This is a great trick because your server will be lock even if you forget
to lock it.
Trick
Number 2 - "Lock Computer" Shortcut
Here we'll make a "Lock Computer"
Shortcut on your Desktop so you can lock your computer by simply double-clicking
on an icon.
On an empty space on your
desktop, right click and select "New" then "Shortcut".
You'll see this shortcut
wizard in Windows 2000 Server.
Paste the following line
into the "Type the location of this item" box. Click "Next".
%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe
user32.dll,LockWorkStation
This next dialog box will
ask for a name for this shortcut. Type in "Lock Computer" or something
that makes sense to you. Click "Finish".
Now you'll have an icon on
your desktop that allows you to quickly lock your computer without having
to go through the process of "control-alt-delete" -> "Lock Computer".
Pretty neat eh?
|
