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Windows 10 Will Soon Lock Your PC When You Step Away From It (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the anti-theft dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Microsoft is working on a new Windows 10 feature that will automatically lock and secure a PC when the operating system detects someone has moved away from the machine. The feature is labelled as Dynamic Lock in recent test builds of Windows 10, and Windows Central reports that Microsoft refers to this as "Windows Goodbye" internally. Microsoft currently uses special Windows Hello cameras to let Windows 10 users log into a PC with just their face. Big corporations teach employees to use the winkey+L combination to lock machines when they're idle, but this new feature will make it an automatic process. It's not clear exactly how Microsoft will detect inactivity, but it's possible the company could use Windows Hello-compatible machines or detect idle activity and lock the machine accordingly. Windows can already be configured to do this after a set time period, but it appears Microsoft is streamlining this feature into a simple setting for anyone to enable. Microsoft is planning to deliver Dynamic Lock as part of the Windows 10 Creators Update, expected to arrive in April.

3 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Should already be habit by The-Ixian · · Score: 5, Informative

    Meta+L before you step away.

    I have even worked at places where not locking your computer when you are away from it is a fireable offence (after a few warnings).

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  2. No. This is Different. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    This isn't a screen saver time out. This is presence detection. It won't wait a configured (10) minutes of inactivity to lock the screen. The camera "sees" the user and even knows which user it is seeing. The camera then locks the screen immediately when the user is not present.

    I'm curious though, if this can be easily defeated with a picture of the user being used to unlock the PC?

  3. Re:This has gone far enough! by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 4, Informative

    Windows 10 Will Soon Lock Your PC When You Step Away From It

    Bloody hell, will it? Even though I'm running Windows 7/Centos 7? That's very clever.

    Windows 10 will soon install itself on your PC when you step away from it, even though you are running Windows 7/Centos 7.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!