Deadbolt For Mac

Deadbolt helps you make sure your Mac’s screen is not open for everyone to see when you step away from the computer.

The Deadbolt utility helps you rely on previously established habits to create a workflow that deals with the issue without relying on your attention.

The Deadbolt application resides out of your way in the status bar and can be configured with ease by making the appropriate selection in a simple drop down menu: Built-in iSight, IR Receiver, IOUSBHostDevice, Apple Keyboard, USB device, or USB 2.0 FlashDisk.

Deadbolt will also detect devices connected to your Mac and allow you to select them as the trigger: for example, the utility can lock the screen when you disconnect your iPhone which means that, if you are accustomed to taking your phone with you, you will always know your screen is also locked.

Nonetheless, Deadbolt does not come with documentation, and it's not always clear on how you can use some of the included options, such as the possibility to use the Built-in iSight as a trigger.

Note that you also have the opportunity to activate the screensaver instead of locking the screen. In this case, to make sure everything remains private, you must check the “Require password immediately after sleep or screen saver begins” option in the Security and Privacy panel that is included in the System Preferences.

However, if you also want to be able to lock the screen without following any of the previous conditions, Deadbolt also allows you to rely on a hotkey. The default keyboard combination is Control + Option + Command + L, but you get to change it with ease.

Naturally, you can also perform the task by setting up hot corners via the System Preferences, but the point of the Deadbolt app is to hep you set rules that will ensure you the task has been performed even if you don’t precisely remember doing it.