Windows offers two ways to return to life from its swirling and churning screen saver. Windows can return you to the opening screen, where you must log back on to your user account. Alternatively, Windows 7 can simply return you to the program you were using when the screen saver kicked in.
Some people prefer the security of the opening screen. If the screen saver kicks in when they’re spending too much time at the water cooler, they’re protected: Nobody can walk over and snoop through their e-mail.
Asking for password is the more secure way. And thus we say Windows 7 is more secure. The screen saver wakes up at Windows 7’s opening screen, and people must log on to their user accounts before using the computer.
Other people don’t need that extra security, and they simply want to return to work quickly. Here’s how to accommodate both camps:
If you don’t ever want to see the opening screen, then use a single user account without a password, which I describe in Chapter 13. That defeats all the security offered by the user account system, but it’s more convenient if you live alone.
1. Right-click a blank part of your desktop and choose Personalize.
2. Click Screen Saver in the bottom-right corner. Windows 7 shows the screen saver options, including whether or not Windows should wake up or resume at the logon screen.
3. Depending on your preference, select or deselect the On Resume, Display Logon Screen check box.
If the check box is selected, Windows 7 is more secure. The screen saver wakes up at Windows 7’s opening screen, and people must log on to their user accounts before using the computer. If the check box isn’t selected, Windows 7 is more easygoing, waking up from the screen saver in the same place where you stopped working.
4. Click OK to save your changes.