If you use your computer in an area where others may have access to it, and there are things on your system you would rather have kept confidential, locking your desktop when you leave the computer is an essential task.

Please note: It is very important to make sure that you have a user account with a password set up before you implement this tip, otherwise you might lock yourself out of your own computer.

Here's the recipe for a desktop shortcut that will lock your computer in two easy clicks. Right click on an empty area of the desktop and choose 'new' then 'shortcut.' The create shortcut wizard will open; in the first text box, type the following:

'%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation'and then give your shortcut an appropriate name on the next page, and hit 'finish.' You will notice that the shortcut you created has a blank icon. To select a more appropriate one, right click on the shortcut and hit 'properties.'

In the 'shortcut' tab, click the 'change icon' button. In the 'look for icons in this file' box, type '%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll' then click 'ok' to see a range of icons for your new shortcut. Choose an appropriate icon. Your desktop locking shortcut is now ready for use. Test it out.