Locking the screen in OSX

I’ve been using a Fedora workstation in conjuction with my iBook at work, and I’ve gotten used to the handy ‘lock screen’ button on the Gnome toolbar.

I wanted the same type of ‘lock screen’ button for OSX, but didn’t know of any quick and easy way to enable it. I did some research, and came up with this nice [but oddly hidden] method:

Keychain Access is used to store passwords to web sites, network servers, and lockable volumes. However, it also provides a quick way of securing your computer.

Open Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access. Click View > “Show Status in Menu Bar” to display a menu marked by an icon of a padlock at the right hand end of the menu bar at the top of your screen. Choosing “Lock Screen” from this menu will start the screen saver, and will prompt for a password for further access.