VLC (VideoLAN Client) is a popular open-source media player for a variety of platforms including Windows and Android devices. Unfortunately, Roku is not one of VLC’s supported devices, so there is no direct way to install or use the VLC player on a Roku TV or media player. However, you can get VLC on a Roku by mirroring content from your Android phone or from your Windows computer.
Before you begin, make sure that screen mirroring is enabled on your Roku device. To do that, follow the instructions in the first section of our article on mirroring to a Roku device, under “How to set up Roku for mirroring.”
2. Click the Notification icon at the bottom right of the Windows desktop.
3. If needed to see all the icons, click “Expand.” Then find and click “Connect.”
Click “Connect” from the Notification icon on the desktop.
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4. In the pane that pops out of the right side of the desktop, find and select your Roku device.
Select your Roku device when it appears.
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5. On the TV, use the Roku remote to select “Allow.”
Be sure to allow the content from your PC to appear on the Roku.
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Your PC should now be mirrored on the Roku. Open the VLC Player app – its contents should be displayed on the TV.
How to get VLC on Roku by mirroring from Android
1. Install the VLC app on your Android.
2. You can mirror to Roku from almost any Android device, but the name of the mirror feature varies depending on which Android device you are using. In general, you can find it by swiping down from the top of the screen to display the quick-access icons (or open Settings and select “Connection and sharing”). Some of the names that this feature goes by includes Cast, Screen Cast, Smart View, Quick Connect, HTC Connect, and Smart Share. Find the casting feature for your phone and tap it.
Start casting from your phone. On this Samsung Galaxy, the feature is called “Smart View,” but the name will vary from phone to phone.
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3. Make sure you enable casting. Look for your Roku to appear in the list of devices and then tap it. You might need to confirm you want to do this.
Select the Roku device when you see it.
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4. On the TV, use the Roku remote to select “Allow.”
Allow the Roku to mirror your phone, and you can access VLC from your Roku.
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Your Android phone’s screen should now be mirrored on the Roku. Open the VLC Player app and watch the mirrored videos on your TV screen.
Blizzard’s Battle.net gaming service is a popular platform for purchasing and playing Blizzard’s extensive library of games. Because it includes multiplayer gaming and social features like chats, you can choose a gamer tag – which Blizzard calls a BattleTag – so you can be found and identified online.
Your BattleTag is unique, so you don’t have to worry about other gamers having the same name. Blizzard allows you to change this tag once for free. After that, you’re charged a change fee, which is currently $10 per BattleTag change.
Blizzard’s BattleTag naming rules
Blizzard gives you a lot of freedom when creating your name, but you’ll need to follow these conventions when changing your BattleTag:
It must be between 3-12 characters long.
It can’t start with a number, but numbers are allowed.
You can’t use any spaces or special symbols.
It also needs to follow Blizzard’s online code of conduct, which prohibits rude or offensive language.
Here’s how to change your BattleTag for free or at cost.
Lately, you may have heard about a new platform called Carrd. Simply put, Carrd is a website-building platform, much like Squarespace or WordPress. The big difference between Carrd and other sites, though, is that Carrd is optimized to create simple, one-page websites, which makes it much easier to use.
People often use Carrd to display their portfolio, or promote a cause that’s important to them.
What you need to know about Carrd
There are myriad uses for small websites. Carrd suggests a handful of website types, which are helpfully arranged in different layout templates. They include:
Profile – Good for making a personal information page to tell others about yourself, likely to market yourself to employers or collaborators.
Landing – For things like products, services, apps, and the like. Landing pages make it easy to explain what something is, how it works, and where to get it.
Forms – Good for businesses interacting with current or potential customers. Forms can do things like collect emails, conduct surveys, etc.
Portfolio – Sort of like a profile, but specifically for visual artists, as it’s meant to show off art and graphics.
Sectioned – These Carrds are different from the other categories. They’re like a halfway point between a one-page website and a site with multiple pages. They’re still one page, but they’re sectioned off into different categories – perfect for people looking to disseminate information on a topic, especially a complex one.
On top of these uses, many people have been using Carrd for other things. For example, some writers use it to help outline their stories, using the Sectioned format to help them keep track of characters, world-building elements, plot points, and more.
One popular use of the Sectioned layout is for online activists to raise awareness and spread information about causes, such as the Carrd site for Black Lives Matter. These sites often include donation buttons or links to organizations that help these causes.
The best part is that most of the site’s features are free to use. There are a few that you can only access by upgrading to a paid version, like the ability to use forms or third-party widgets, but these extras are mostly aimed at business using Carrd as a homebase – most users can get along without these.
The possible uses of Carrd are limited only by the imagination, and the site is very easy to use. If you’re interested in creating a Carrd yourself, and want to find out more, check out our article on how to make a Carrd.
Blackboard is an increasingly common platform for online learning.
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Blackboard Learn is a highly customizable online learning application that allows users to take or host online courses.
Students and teachers can interact using assignments, video conferencing, discussion groups, tests, and more in Blackboard Learn and its upgraded version, Ultra.
Blackboard’s mobile apps and accessibility tools allow students to participate remotely and flexibly in classes.
Blackboard is a customizable online learning tool that can replace or supplement traditional face-to-face classes for a school or any other classroom structure. Many conventional classroom functions have equivalents in Blackboard Learn, allowing students and teachers to emulate just about every physical classroom experience element.
In a fully online format, the teacher might assign all materials to the students digitally, communicate outside of class using online tools, and have students discuss and collaborate online. But in a hybrid model, the class might meet in person only a few times a week and use Blackboard activities that students complete outside the course. Finally, in a web-enhanced model, the classes may be face-to-face, but instructors may post supporting materials like syllabus, assignments, or optional discussions online.
Here’s what else you should know about Blackboard.
Blackboard’s features and tools
Blackboard is host to many virtual and digital learning tools, but all revolve around its core component: courses.
Courses, which instructors can only start, are accessible through the “Home” section of a student’s Blackboard account under “My Courses.” Classes are supplemented by various tools, focusing on several critical areas of the classroom experience: content, interaction and discussion, and announcements and scheduling.
Courses & Content
Instructors can post content, including files, text, images, audio, and video, in their courses. That content can then be organized using learning modules, folders, or lesson plans. To help students navigate their course content, instructors can post a syllabus with descriptions of the course materials, assignments, grading expectations, and more in a section of the course menu or elsewhere within a course.
Other content that you’ll likely see includes surveys, tests, and assignments. Instructors can customize grading for and assign grades to submissions. Students can view assignment and class grades by navigating to the “My Grades” section in the dropdown menu by their name. Meanwhile, surveys and tests are highly customizable and may be multiple-choice, timed, or written. While tests are graded, surveys are not. Surveys may instead be used to poll students or assess their knowledge and are marked as complete or incomplete.
Announcements & Calendars
Blackboard offers several ways for students and teachers to stay on track throughout their class. Instructors can post announcements on changes to a syllabus, due dates, exam schedules, and more. Notifications may appear on the “Home” page of a student’s Blackboard account for their institution or within specific classes. Instructors and students can also keep track of important dates through the calendar tool, combining course, individual, and institutional schedules.
Interaction & Discussion
Instructors can set up discussion boards within their classes, with both students and educators can start new discussion threads and reply to an original prompt. Students in a class can also send direct messages to one another by clicking “Messages” in their course menu.
Instructors may set up groups of students within their class to complete group projects, have discussions, or share work. In addition to sharing files and having group-specific conversations, this feature lets users create shared journals. These are a way for students to interact privately with their instructor. Instructors create journal topics within the journal topic page, and students respond with entries that can be graded.
Blackboard has some other features that help students and instructors stay connected, whether with Blackboard Ultra, the mobile apps, or the accessibility toolkit. Here’s what you should know about them.
Ultra
Blackboard Ultra is a cloud-based service like Google Workspace (formerly GSuite) or Dropbox, rather than a downloaded or installed software. It’s an updated version of the original Blackboard that institutions can access if they opt for SaaS (“Software As A Service”) deployment.
Blackboard Ultra’s updated user interface and workflow include a responsive design that works on any device. It also features an “activity stream” that allows students to see updates from all their classes together in an organized list rather than class-by-class. Ultra’s calendar gathers due dates from all courses and offers a grades page that features all your performance together without navigating to each class.
If you’re unsure if you have the Ultra or Original version of Blackboard, look at your browser window’s left panel after log in. If your name is shown in the left-hand menu, you’re using Ultra. If it’s in the top right, you’re using Original.
Mobile apps
Blackboard’s apps, including Blackboard and Blackboard Instructor, are iOS 11+ and Android 5+ compatible mobile tools that work with both Original and Ultra interfaces. Once downloaded, the app will ask you to find your institution and log in with your Blackboard Learn login information.
Accessibility tools
To optimize accessibility on Blackboard, instructors can design content for students with visual, hearing, learning, and mobility-based disabilities in mind.
Blackboard Learn is compatible with screen readers, and pages are designed to follow a common structure to allow quick navigation. Others can enable high-contrast styles on the login page of Blackboard Learn to match their computer configuration. Students who use keyboard navigation will find commonly used web formatting, while those who rely on key commands to navigate through pages can access them in the Quick Links tool or through hitting Shift+Alt+L.
Instructors can caption all media types that they upload so that students can read information instead of listening. To reduce visual clutter and increase executive function, users can collapse menus or set up Blackboard Learn to send notifications and reminders. Instructors can also design tests with accommodations for extra time, varying visual displays, or more attempts.
The Blackboard App also offers built-in accessibility features, like VoiceOver navigation, zoom for enlarged visuals, color filters, navigation through Bluetooth switch hardware, AssistiveTouch in iOS, and Switch Access for external devices in Android.
Storage space on a computer is valuable, but it’s not infinite. The hard drive that’s inside your computer can only fit so much data before it fills up.
As a solution, many users have turned to cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox. But if you’re looking for a more concrete way to manage your files, you might want to invest in an external hard drive.
External hard drives are a great way to free up storage space and safely backup your files. Here’s what you should know about them.
External hard drives, explained
An external hard drive is a device, usually around the size of a book, that you can store any file or app on. If you’ve ever used a USB flash drive, external hard drives are essentially the same thing, but bigger and with more storage space.
The difference between an external hard drive and the hard drive in your computer is that an external drive is portable – you can disconnect it at any time and move it around, without losing the data inside.
You can move an external hard drive without having to take the computer.
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External hard drives connect to your computer with a USB cord, and you can copy files to them like you would any other folder. Like flash drives, you can plug your external hard drive into any computer, and transfer your files freely.
External hard drives can be used as supplemental storage – in other words, as an addition to the storage already on your computer. For example, if you have a large amount of high-definition photos and videos that are slowing your computer down, you can store them on your external hard drive instead.
External hard drives are also great for moving files between computers, regardless of their operating system. If you have an album on your PC that you want to share with your friend who has a Mac, you can save it on your external hard drive, plug the drive into your friend’s computer, and then transfer it to them within a matter of minutes.
Most external hard drives can hold at least one terabyte (1 TB) of data – this equals 1000 gigabytes (GB), or 1,000,000 megabytes (MB). To put it into perspective, the most expensive iPhone on the market right now only holds 512 GB – just about half a terabyte. And the average photo taken by a smartphone is around 2 MB.
An external hard drive can hold documents, various forms of media, software, and applications. Essentially, if you have a file on your computer, it can be copied to an external hard drive.
External hard drives come in various colors and sizes.
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Many external hard drives also come with their own apps to help you better manage your data.
External hard drives vs cloud storage
As noted, many users have started using cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, and others. The advantage that cloud storage has is convenience – you can access your files from any computer without special hardware.
But the advantage that external hard drives have is that you’ll always have access to your data, even if you lose internet access, and even if you can’t remember your account password.
Any cloud storage website is at risk of cyber attacks and wonky servers. An external hard drive sitting on your desk, however, isn’t.
In addition, with an external hard drive you don’t have to pay the recurring account fees that you might have to pay for using a cloud service. Most popular external hard drives range in price from $30 to $100, but you only have to pay once.
Hard drives are portable, but somewhat fragile.
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External hard drives do come with their own risks, though. If the external hard drive is damaged, it can wipe out your files. And leaving a physical hard drive around means that anyone can pick up and take your data.
But if you’re looking for a way to store big files for a long time, an external hard drive might be your best bet.
You might know VLC as a free, open-source media player – it’s a streamlined program that’s easy to use and plays nearly every type of video under the sun. This makes it a popular tool for anyone who watches videos on their computer.
And although the app is mostly made for watching videos, you can edit videos in several ways too. One of these ways includes cutting smaller clips out of a larger video.
What might otherwise require a paid video editing program can be done in seconds for free with VLC.
The only caveat is that you can’t stop the recording and then start it again in another spot without making multiple video files. You can, however, skip around the video however you like while it’s recording – the new file will record your skips exactly.
How to cut video in VLC on a PC
1. Start VLC and open the file you want to cut into one or more clips.
2. In the menu bar, click “View,” and then in the drop-down menu choose “Advanced Controls.” You should see a new toolbar appear at the bottom of the window, which includes a red record button.
The Advanced Controls includes a Record button and a Frame-by-Frame button, both of which will be handy for cutting video.
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3. Position the video at the point you want to start the cut.
4. Click the red Record button in the new toolbar.
When you click the Record button, it’ll light up.
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5. Click the Play button until you reach the end of the clip you want to cut. You can also use the Frame-by-Frame button to the right of the Record button in the new toolbar.
6. When you reach the end of the sequence you want to cut out, click the record button again to stop the recording. You can also skip to another part of the video if you’d like to save another clip in the same file.
7. After a moment, the clip should appear in your computer’s Videos folder. It’ll have the same name as the original video, with “vlc-record-” and the current date added to the start of the filename.
To find your Videos folder, open a Windows Explorer folder and go to “This PC” in the navigation pane on the left. There you’ll see your user folders, including Videos. You can also go into VLC’s “Preferences” menu to change this location.
How to cut video in VLC on a Mac
1. Start VLC and open the video that you want to cut.
2. Head to the point in the video where you want to start your clip.
3. In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click “Playback,” and then click “Record.”
You can also press Option + Command + R to start and stop recording.
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4. Start playing the video again. Play it until the point you want to end your cut, and then click “Record” again in the menu bar. Or, if you’d like to include another clip in the same file, you can skip to the start of that clip and keep recording.
5. Once you click “Record” the second time, your new video will be saved to your Mac’s “Movies” folder. It’ll be named “vlc-record,” followed by the date, time, and the video’s original title.
You can find the “Movies” folder by clicking the name of your computer in the Finder’s sidebar, followed by “Macintosh HD,” then “Users,” then your account name, and then “Movies.” You can also change where your recordings are saved through VLC’s “Preferences” menu.
You might have to navigate through a few different folders to find your Movies.
Blackboard Collaborate is a web-conferencing tool that gives instructors and students more ways to learn virtually face-to-screen-to-face.
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Blackboard Collaborate offers Blackboard instructors and moderators private, dedicated course rooms for breakout sessions, one-on-one meetings, and office hours.
Available as part of the standard or Ultra Blackboard experience, Blackboard Collaborate is located in your Course Tools and is accessible through a desktop or mobile device.
Blackboard is an online learning tool that allows students and instructors to host or take online classes as part of a school, university, or corporate environment. The educational platform is highly customizable, allowing users to tailor their digital classroom experience to an institution’s and learners’ needs.
In Blackboard, students can view assignments, submit work, have discussions, and even meet for a video conference. Meanwhile, instructors can make announcements, post course materials, and grade assignments and classes. Blackboard’s apps also help students stay connected on their phones, and other features include calendars, discussions, groups, and assessments.
Within Blackboard, several advanced features enhance or expand the interactive element of online learning. Blackboard Collaborate and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra are just one. The video-based conferencing tool within the Blackboard platform hosts private “rooms” for real-time educational collaboration.
Here’s everything you should know about Blackboard Collaborate.
What you need to know about Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard’s video conferencing tool works with both the original and Ultra versions through different interfaces. Both allow users to meet in real-time, add files, and more. You’ll need to install the Blackboard Collaborate utility before you launch video sessions but will be prompted to download it when you click on a video session link.
Blackboard Collaborate rooms are located in the “Tools” section of a course. In Blackboard Original, there is one video “room” associated with a given course if enabled. In Ultra, the instructor may create additional sessions for other uses, including breakout or group-study sessions that can operate regardless of whether the instructor is present. Instructors can also customize the rooms to allow private messaging, allow simultaneous speakers, share their desktop, or set recording options.
The dedicated “Course Room” lasts for the entirety of the course, and instructors and students can join at any time without scheduling or without the need for an instructor to hold bigger classwide sessions. Instructors have an additional “My Room” that can be used for office hours or other smaller meetings with students.
And much like Zoom, in Collaborate, instructors can create a unique session link. Instructors can use the link to direct students immediately from another course area (a folder, for example) to the Collaborate session.
Blackboard Collaborate interactive features and mobile access
Collaborate offers several features to help students and instructors get the most out of the “room” experience. Users can participate in polls, raise their hand (like the Google Meet and Zoom feature) to share a question or comment, and use the chat to message other students or the room moderator without disrupting the larger conversation.
Collaborate will test your audio and video before you join the session or room, but in the case where your audio is not up to par, you have the option to call in and join the sessions using your phone. Or, you could go completely mobile by joining a Collaborate session from your mobile browser. Android users should sign into their Blackboard account using Chrome, while iPhone users can use Safari to join live classes and meetings, view instructor-shared content, and use all the same whiteboard and communication tools as a desktop device.
If you have a library account, you can borrow ebooks and read them on your Kindle.
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You can get library books on a Kindle device through Amazon’s partnership with OverDrive, as long as you have a library membership with a participating institution.
You can download library books on your Kindle through your library’s website or using the OverDrive website.
Not all libraries offer Kindle support, and some titles might be restricted and thus unavailable to download on your Kindle.
While Amazon’s Kindle allows owners to purchase or rent ebooks from the company itself, some people may not know that access to your latest favorites on your e-reader is only a library card away. Those with a membership at their local library can access electronic books for free, thanks to Amazon’s partnership with OverDrive.
It should be noted that not all libraries support the OverDrive lending system, so you’ll need to verify that yours does before proceeding. Additionally, some Kindle Books such as picture books, read-alongs, and graphic novels will not be supported by the Kindle app or some devices.
When checking out a book, whether through your library or the OverDrive site, you’ll want to find a “Device restrictions” link, or something similar, under the “Available formats” section to confirm compatibility. You can also read the book, once borrowed, within the OverDrive app if you don’t have your Kindle handy.
Once all of that is in place, you’re ready to get started. Here’s how to read library books on your Kindle.
What you need to read library ebooks on your Kindle
Checking out ebooks through OverDrive is a relatively straightforward process, but you will need a few things in addition to your library membership before proceeding.
A Kindle device, the Kindle Cloud Reader, or the Kindle app, which is available for iOS and Android devices.
An access pin to the OverDrive catalog, which can be obtained from your library.
A Wi-Fi connection or a computer and USB cord through which to load your borrowed books onto your Kindle device
How to check out library books on a Kindle through your library’s website
1. Visit the website of your local library and log into your account.
2. Use the library website’s search tool to find eBooks or Kindle books.
You can browse your library’s digital collections for Kindle ebooks the same way you browse for other titles.
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3. Follow the website’s instructions for checking them out. This will usually involve going to a title’s details page and hitting the “Borrow” link.
You will need to use the “Borrow” link to begin the process for loaning out the ebook to read on your Kindle.
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4. During checkout, there should be an option to sign in to your Amazon account with your username and password. Follow the process, including selecting the Kindle device you would like your book(s) to be sent to.
5. Check that your Kindle is connected to WiFi.
6. Finally, download the library book via the device’s Archived Items or Cloud section, both of which can be accessed through your Kindle’s settings.
How to check out library books for your Kindle through the OverDrive website
3. Search for and find the book you want to borrow using the site’s advanced search, format filter, or by visiting an ebook’s details page and verifying that Kindle is an available format.
4. Titles will appear in two different formats. One will feature only an image of the book cover with the title and author. The other will feature the book cover, title, and author, with a designation that it’s an “Ebook” and a link to “Borrow” it.
5. If the format you see has the “Borrow” link, click it.
6. If prompted, sign in to your library account.
7. If a lending period is available, select it now.
8. Choose “Borrow” again.
9. If the format only features the cover, author and title, click or tap the “More” option to be redirected to the ebook’s details page.
10. Select “Borrow” before signing in to your library account, if prompted.
11. Go to your Account dashboard and access the Checkouts page.
12. The process for both formats should now be the same, and you should see the option to “Read now with Kindle.” Click that link.
13. You’ll be redirected to Amazon’s site. If you aren’t signed in, do so.
14. Choose “Get Library Book” and verify that the “Deliver to:” device is your Kindle if prompted.
Backup software is a good insurance policy against catastrophe – a failed drive or crippling malware, for example. But a clone of your hard drive – a duplicate of the drive in its entirety – has a lot of advantages as well. For example, if your primary hard drive fails or you are upgrading to a new PC, having a cloned drive means you can get up and running just by swapping in the backup. In fact, a good strategy for some users is to maintain both an incremental backup using backup software and a frequently updated cloned drive.
One important caveat: While you can clone a system (“C”) drive, it’s only useful in the exact same computer. Because of the way Windows works, you can’t clone a system drive and insert it in a new computer with different hardware components. You can clone and use a data drive (such as a “D” drive) in a new PC, though.
How to clone a hard drive
To begin, you will need a second drive that is at least as big as the content on the drive you want to copy. It can be mounted internally in your computer or an external drive connected via USB.
You can clone any drive, including copying your laptop’s system drive to an external hard drive.
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You will also need a program capable of cloning your hard drive because Windows does not have the ability to do this automatically. You can use a free program like Macrium Reflect, which is reliable and easy to use, or a commercial program like Casper, which you can license for $49.95. The specific process for cloning your drive varies depending on the program you use, but we’ll use Macrium as an example.
1. Start Macrium Reflect. You’ll see a list of all your drives.
Macrium Reflect works like many clone tools. You should see all the connected drives and their internal partitions.
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2. Find the drive you want to clone and then click “Clone this disk…” under the drive.
3. In the pop-up window, click “Select a disk to clone to…” and choose the destination drive you want to use to make the clone.
After you choose the drive you want to clone, select the destination drive you are going to copy the data to.
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4. Click “Next” and then click “OK” to start the cloning process.
It will take a while to create the clone, depending on how much data is stored on the drive. When it’s done, you will have an exact duplicate you can use to restore or set up a new PC.
There are many options when it comes to locking a Mac, from simply closing the lid to keyboard shortcuts.
You’ll need to set up a password for your Mac before you can properly lock it.
Once you have a password, you’ll need to set your computer’s sleep and wake settings to control how often you need to log into your locked Mac with a password.
Out of all the measures you should take to protect your digital privacy, locking a device might be the most basic, but it can surely be the most effective.
Whether you’re at school, an office, or even at home, locking your Mac – even if you step away just for a moment – is a no-brainer. Just think of all the sensitive information that’s just a few clicks away: Security codes, work documents, financial statements, all of your social accounts, and more.
There are several ways you can lock your Mac, which we outline below. But before you can do that, you’ll want to set up a password for your computer. Here’s everything you need to know.
Setting up a password on Mac
In order to lock your Mac, you’ll need to first set up a password. This password will be required for both logging into your Mac as well as approving changes to your computer.
1. Click the Apple icon, located in the top-left corner of your screen and select “System Preferences.”
2. Click “Security and Privacy”
3. In the General tab, check the box that says “Require password.” You can also set the timing of the password, from “immediately” up to “8 hours.” It’s important to choose “immediately” if you want your computer to automatically lock when it goes to sleep or screensaver mode.
Choosing “immediately” gives you the best protection.
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We should also note that clicking “Advanced” in the lower-right hand corner of the window allows you to specify how long your computer can be idle before it automatically logs out and requires a password to get back in. This is an ideal last line of defense against would-be intruders.
Once your password is set, you’ll be able to lock your Mac in several different ways – the best method depends on your habits and preferences, and if you typically use your computer in a private or public setting.
Closing the lid
If you’re working on a MacBook, you can simply close the lid. This by far the easiest method, but only works if you’ve set the computer to “immediately” lock when you set up your password.
Apple menu bar
Using the Apple menu bar is another easy way to lock your computer.
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Another simple way to lock your Mac is from the Apple icon in the menu bar. From the Apple icon dropdown menu, click on “Lock Screen.”
Using keyboard shortcuts
You can easily lock your Mac from your keyboard:
Press Control + Command + Q: This shortcut will take you directly to the lock screen.
Press Control + Shift + Power button: This shortcut will turn your displays off only – background tasks, like music, will continue.
Press Command + Option + Power button: This shortcut will put your computer into sleep mode.
Note: If you’re using an older Mac with a media eject button, press the Eject button in place of the Power button.
Using Hot Corners
If you prefer locking your screen with a flick of the wrist, you can set a shortcut so your screen goes into screensaver mode when you move your pointer to a certain corner of the screen. This feature is called Hot Corners, and here’s how to set it up:
1. Click the Apple icon. From the dropdown menu, click “System Preferences.”
Hot Corners can be accessed from the “Desktop & Screen Saver” menu.
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2. Click “Desktop & Screen Saver”
Click into the Screen Saver tab to access Hot Corners.
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3. In the window that pops up, navigate to the “Screen Saver” tab, then click “Hot Corners.”
Choose the corner you want to use.
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4. Click the pop-up menu for the corner you want to use, and choose “Start Screen Saver,” then click “OK.” Now, whenever you move the cursor to the corner selected, your computer will enter screensaver mode.
Using the Mac Touch Bar
If you have a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar, you can customize it to include a “Screen Lock” icon.
1. Click the Apple icon and open System Preferences.
Navigate to the “Keyboard” in System Preferences.
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2. Click “Keyboard.”
You can rearrange what shows up in your Touch Bar here.
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3. From the Keyboard menu, click “Customize Control Strip.”
4. An icon menu will pop up from the bottom of your screen. Find the “Screen Lock” icon and drag it into the touch bar. You can arrange the buttons any way you like.
Drag the “Screen Lock” icon down into your Touch Bar.
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5. Once complete, click “Done.” You’ll now be able to lock your screen via the Touch Bar.
