I really hope the next big update to Mac OS comes with some sort of hotkey for locking your computer. I’ve mentioned how you can use the Mac app LockTight to implement a hotkey for locking your computer, but it seems silly that this isn’t a native and standard keystroke on all Mac systems.
Until Apple gets their stuff together on this, you can also try this handy Locker Widget that makes locking your computer as easy as double-clicking an orange icon. The app sits in your Dashboard and acts the same way as the fast user switching menu. I find this particular app to be more pleasant to use than LockTight.
Pingback: Lock Your Mac « allnewmac.com
To accomplish the same I set up hot corners to turn on my screen saver when i put my mouse in the bottom left corner of my screen, then I went into security settings and ticked the box marked “require password to wake this computer from sleep or screensaver”.
There is about a 1-2 seconds delay before it locks, so if you put it in the bottom corner by mistake you can recover without having to log back in.
I find dashboard can be slow to respond the first time it is required. Probably because of a heavy app I have on mine.