Power on, lock the screen, and find Settings

Press the power button until the screen lights up, then wait. The first screen may ask you to swipe, enter a PIN or password, or use a fingerprint or face if that option is already set up. On a Windows computer, Microsoft describes signing in with a password, a PIN, or Windows Hello (a fingerprint or face) if those are set up. Choose your account if more than one appears, then enter the sign-in you already use. If you forget a password or PIN, Microsoft’s sign-in screen can include a link to reset it — ask a tutor before you try a reset on a shared machine.

On a phone, waking the screen is not the same as unlocking it. After the screen lights up you still need the lock you have chosen, unless the phone was set to stay unlocked. Google’s Android help says a setting of None or Swipe gives no protection: anyone who picks up the phone can open it. If the device belongs to a library or council, use only the practice account staff give you. Do not try other people’s accounts.

If nothing happens when you press power, check that a charger or power cable is connected. Then ask for help. Forcing extra buttons at random can make a shared computer harder for the next person to use.

Once you are in, pause and look at the screen. You do not need to open every app today. The next step is to know where Settings lives, and how to lock the device when you stand up.

Settings is the control room. On many Android phones, Google’s steps for a screen lock start there: open the Settings app, tap Security (if you do not see Security, Google says to check your phone maker’s help), then tap Screen lock. If a lock is already set, you must enter it before you can pick a different one. Then choose the option you want and follow the on-screen steps. Google lists PIN (four or more numbers, with a six-digit PIN recommended), Pattern, or Password (four or more letters or numbers — Google calls a strong password the most secure of these options). None and Swipe, again, give no protection.

On an iPhone, Apple’s help says to open Settings and then, depending on the model, tap Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode, then Turn Passcode On or Change Passcode. You can view passcode options there. To change how soon the iPhone locks itself, Apple lists Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock, then a length of time.

On Windows, Microsoft says you can lock a computer that is already signed in by pressing the Windows logo key + L, or by opening Start, choosing the power icon, and choosing Lock. Locking keeps your apps and files open in the background. Anyone who wants to use the computer after that must sign in again. That is different from signing out, which closes your session and can lose unsaved work.

This course will never ask you to type your real PIN or password into a practice screen. If you change a lock on your own phone, do it on the real device, with a tutor nearby if you want company, and store the new lock only in your memory or a safe password manager — not on a sticky note.

Get Cyber Safe says to give a computer a strong log-in password and to lock it when you are not around. For phones and tablets, it says to use a lock-screen password and to turn on extra lock options, such as a fingerprint, if they are available. It also says to turn on auto-lock so the device locks after a short time. Even at home, locking the screen helps keep photos, messages, and files private.

Get Cyber Safe also says never to write a password down and then store it near the computer, and never to share your password with anyone. Their passphrase page repeats that last point in plain language: never share your passwords with anyone. A note stuck to the screen helps the next person as much as it helps you — and that is the problem.

If you only leave for a minute, lock anyway. On Windows, Windows key + L is a fast path that does not close your work. On a phone, use the power button to turn the screen off so auto-lock can do its job. If you share a device with family, each person should use their own sign-in when the machine allows it. Microsoft describes switching users so one person does not have to close everything for another — useful at home, less common on a locked-down library PC.

If you get locked out of your own phone because you forgot the passcode, official help exists (Apple describes steps if an iPhone is disabled). Do not guess over and over on someone else’s device. Ask the owner or staff.

1. Turn the device on (or wake the screen) and sign in the way you already do.
2. Find Settings.
3. On a Windows computer you are allowed to use, practise Windows key + L (or Start > power > Lock), then sign in again.
4. On your own phone, with a tutor if you want, find the screen-lock settings. Do not type a real PIN into this course.

What makes people leave a phone unlocked on a kitchen table? What would make locking it feel like a normal habit, not an extra chore?