Reed College
Reed College

Help Desk

Information Technology

Additional Measures For Securing Your Computer

To further protect your computer, we recommend disabling auto-login, password protecting your screen saver, and disabling sleep mode. 

Disabling Auto-Login

There's little sense in having a password protected computer that has auto-login enabled. To disable it, follow the steps below.

Mac:

  1. Open System Preferences, and select Users & Groups
  2. Select Login Options
  3. Ensure that "Automatic Login" is set to "Off"

Windows 7/8.1/10

  1. Click the "Start" button and run: "netplwiz"
  2. Select your user
  3.  Ensure that the box "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" is checked.

Password Protect Your Screen Saver 

We recommend setting your screen saver to activate after 15 minutes of inactivity.  Make sure your computer is set to require a password upon resume:

Mac:

  1. Open System Preferences and select Security and Privacy
  2. Click "General"
  3. Select "Require Password… after sleep or screen saver begins.”
  4. You can now select the time interval required before your computer requires a password again.

Windows 7/8.1:

  1. Open the Control Panel
  2. Select "Appearances and Personalization"
  3. Select "Change Screen Saver"
  4. Select the time required, and check the box "On resume, display logon screen"

Windows 10:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Select "Accounts"
  3. Select "Sign-in Options" on the left-hand menu
  4. Under "Require Sign-in," change the drop-down menu to "When PC wakes up from sleep"
  5. To change the length of time the PC sleeps, go to Settings > System > Power & Sleep and select the time interval from the appropriate drop-down menu.

Disabling Sleep Mode

Your computer may lose its connection to network connections when it goes to sleep. To prevent this from happening, disable sleep mode.

Note: Laptop users may want to enable sleep mode when running on battery power. 

Mac:

  1. Open System Preferences, and select Energy Saver
  2. Move the slider to "Never"

Windows: 

  1. Open the Control Panel
  2. Select "Power Options"
  3. Select "Change Plan Settings"
  4. Under "Put the computer to sleep", choose "Never"
  5. Make sure to "Save changes"

If you have any questions about these additional security measures, contact Computer User Services.