What are screen locks? And why are screen locks so important to security?
Screen locks are security features of computer systems and mobile devices that help prevent access to the devices by unauthorized entities. Furthermore, screen locks are designed to prevent an individual from picking up and use someone else’s mobile device without their consent. However, most screen locks can be unlocked by swiping across the screen, entering a PIN or drawing a pattern depending on the type of screen lock employed. Besides, screen locks may have workarounds on some devices, such as accessing the phone application through the emergency calling feature and other similar mechanism.
Screen locks are usually triggered after a timeout period of some idleness. Moreover, most devices nowadays can be configured to auto-start a password-protect screen saver if the system is left idle for some seconds or few minutes. The screen lock feature ensures that if an individual leave the device unattended or it is stolen, forgotten or lost, it will be difficult for an attacker to be able to access personal data or applications hosted on the device.