Your Windows 10 laptop will come with Windows Hello, and go with Windows Goodbye

Microsoft Windows 10 allows to unlock your PC using a variety of biometric methods, including your fingerprints, your face, and your iris, which is great when returning to your laptop after an extended period of time, but what about when leaving only for a few minutes?

While leaving a computer unattended is most unwise in a public place, a place of work functions by different rules, and sometimes a device may remain unattended and fully unlocked, long enough for someone to access it for a variety of seemingly obscure reasons.

According to the latest Windows 10 build, Microsoft is working on a Dynamic Lock feature, which allows to automatically lock a Windows 10 PC upon leaving its side. While there are not official specifications in regard to the method used to lock the PC, or what triggers the automatic lock, it would be reasonable to guess that Windows 10 could use the same biometric facilities available to Windows Hello. This means that Windows 10 could check regularly for a range of factors. For instance, routine checks using a 3D camera, after a set period of inactivity, could trigger the automatic lock. Once the system is locked, the same routine checks may continue, until the owner of the laptop is back at the PC, which will automatically unlock.

The feature could reach owners of Windows Hello-enabled devices, such as Surface devices fitted with fingerprint recognition hardware, as of the upcoming Creators Update, which will also include a number of features currently in development, and accessible only by Windows 10 Insiders.

At present, the closest feature for those who would like a similar functionality on Windows 10, is to set a shorter screen timeout, and require the user to login again after.

If Microsoft decides to include the new feature in the Creators Update of Windows 10, users who have devices with face recognition hardware, will find it a very useful and safe method of ensuring that nobody intrudes into unattended PCs, whether it is unintentional, or done on purpose.

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