Lock Your Screen – Security Best Practice

jasr.me/dog – If you are another funny IT guy like me and want to kindly ask your coworkers to LOCK THEIR SCREEN. Or if you want to pull a prank on your coworkers and see their face when they come back to their computer.

jasr.me/dogx3 – I also created another page that will automatically load 3 of these in different tabs so you can easily drag them to the other 2 monitors. You will probably need to enable popups or you can CTRL + CLICK the link to get to another tab.

If you know me or anything I have posted on this site, you will know that I have been in IT for many years. Seven years in the Army and seventeen years in the private/commercial sector.

I came across this site, sanger.dk, a while ago that was a full screen of a pug licking a clear glass pane. I would use that on full screen maximized and then lock their screen.

IT TIP – KEYBOARD SHORTCUT – F11 IN ANY BROWSER TO MAXIMIZE THE SCREEN

If you worked with me and you left your screen unlocked then you might have seen this when you came back to your desk and unlocked your computer.

It is too easy to lock your screen when you walk away from your computer.

IT TIP #2: KEYBOARD SHORTCUT WIN + L TO LOCK YOUR SCREEN.

This does not stop any process or put the computer into sleep or hibernate and just locks the screen so another can’t use the computer as you. Meaning if you need to take a coffee or bio break then you can leave your program chugging away and when you come back, you scroll your mouse, hit CTRL, or wake up the screen and then enter your password and then you are back where you left off OR your process you let run is done and you can continue to the next.

This is one of the easiest methods to secure your computer. It DOES NOT protect against remote hackers but physical security is a just as or maybe more important. There could be an argument made that a password is not physical security but I am referring to the initial attack vector of sitting at your computer.

It is too easy to lock your screen before you walk away. It is also much easier to for someone to walk up to your unlocked computer and do what ever the want as you and get away ‘Scott Free.’

Side note: Why does Scott get all the credit? https://chatgpt.com/c/67c5d994-cc60-800f-8483-fc63d24c640a

Side Side Note: I’ve been wrong my whole life. Thanks ChatGPT for clarifying ‘skot-free’ vs ‘Scott Free’.

My prompt: where does scott free come from

ChatGPT said:

The phrase “scot-free” means to escape without incurring punishment or payment. Its origin traces back to the Old Norse word “skot,” meaning “payment” or “contribution,” which evolved into the term “scot” in English, referring to a tax or fee levied in medieval England. Therefore, someone who avoided paying these taxes was said to get off “scot-free.”

languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu

It’s important to note that “scot-free” has no relation to Scotland or its people. Additionally, the phrase is not connected to Dred Scott, the African American man known for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case. The term “scot-free” was in use long before Dred Scott’s time.

phrases.org.uk