I just reformatted my SSD for a fresh start and I finally finished updating and installing everything and I noticed this gold padlock icon in my taskbar that appears everytime I start my computer. When I hover over it, it doesn't say anything. If I click it, right or left, it just disappears. The Lock button prevents other people from accessing your computer or viewing your work. It's an ideal way to protect your computer when you need to step away to the bathroom or to lunch. It's also much quicker to lock and unlock your computer for short periods than to shut it down or put it into a power-saving mode such as sleep.
- What Does Lock The Taskbar Mean In Windows 7
- Windows 10 Taskbar Won't Lock
- What Does Locking The Taskbar Do
The Windows taskbar is one of the most important parts of the Windows 7 and Windows 8 user experience and customizing it to your specific needs will go a long way in making Windows easier to use. Unfortunately, a quick slip of the mouse or adding new items to the taskbar can change a configuration that you have gotten used. That is why it is important to customize the toolbar by pinning items and configuring toolbars so that it works well for you and then lock it into that state so that it does not get changed by mistake. In the future if you want to make a change, you can then unlock the taskbar, make your changes, and then lock it again. This tutorial will walk you through two methods that will allow you to lock and unlock your Windows 7 and Windows 8 taskbar.Method 1 - Taskbar menuThis method will walk you through unlocking and locking the taskbar by using the taskbar menu.Right-click on an empty space on your taskbar so that a menu like the following image appears. Windows 7 Taskbar menuWindows 8 Task Bark Menu.Then select the Lock the taskbar menu option to put a checkmark next to it and lock the toolbar.
If it already has a check next to it, then click on it to remove the check and thus unlock the taskbar. This menu option is designated by the blue arrow in the images above.Your Windows 7 and Windows 8 taskbar should now be locked or unlocked depending on the setting you chose.Method 2 - Taskbar tab of the Start Menu propertiesThis method will show you how to unlock or lock the Windows 7 taskbar through the Start Menu properties.Right-click on the Windows 7 Start Menu ( ) and then select the Properties menu option as shown in the image below.
What is the Lock Symbol in the Browser’s Address Bar?If you see that a website has a lock beside it in the search/address bar, that symbol doesn’t mean you’re locked out of it, it means the website is using security. It’s a good thing!Websites with no security will not have this lock symbol showing.The website security padlock symbol in the address bar says that information between your web browser and the server is encrypted so that other people (like hackers) using the Internet cannot snoop on what information is being sent back and forth. It looks like gibberish to them.This is useful for when you are putting sensitive information into a website like your credit card number or social security number. Any page that you’re putting that kind of information into should have that lock symbol showing so that you know the page is secure.So don’t worry – there’s nothing wrong with your and you didn’t do anything wrong. Like I said, it’s a good thing. It’s added security.Google is encouraging website owners to make all pages of their website secure, so you’re going to start seeing this symbol more and more. Why do Online Banking and Shopping Websites Have a Padlock Symbol?That padlock means that the communication between your computer and them is locked.
It’s encrypted so that nobody else can read what’s going on. It’s a closed/private session.To explain how it technically works would be long and boring but here’s a basic explanation. The Internet is a public space – everyone is using it at once. You don’t have a plug in your computer that goes directly to your bank – you have a plug/connection with your computer that goes to everything.
The connection is shared – that’s the Internet. It’s like a “party line” in the old days (if anyone still remembers that – I’m actually too young but I heard about it).To get around everyone being able to snoop on your account password or how much money you have in your account (or social security numbers, credit card numbers – any private information), mathematicians and scientists came out with a way to make your connection with your bank look like gibberish to everyone else except you and your bank. It’s pretty genius, actually. Is a Website Secure if There’s No Padlock Symbol? If the Padlock is Open in the Address Bar, is it Safe?A website with an open padlock symbol is safe only if you are not sending sensitive information to a website – like credit card info, your social security number, etc. How to Tell if a Website is SecureFor this next section, I’ll go through some scenarios you might see and let you know how they are on a scale of good to worse:. VERY GOOD.
GOOD. OK. NOT GOOD. BADA Lock Symbol is Showing ( GOOD)If a website does have a lock beside it in search bar, then that means you’re using a secure connection.
That means all data between the server (computer) the website is hosted on and your computer is encrypted. If anyone tries to snoop and see that data, it won’t make any sense to them and it cannot be used. A Lock Symbol is Not Showing ( OK/ NOT GOOD)If there is no padlock symbol showing, then you may see a page icon or an icon with an “i” in it – like this (showing Chrome and Firefox):This means the page was not sent to you securely. This may be just fine if there isn’t any sensitive information on the page.
If it’s credit card page or a page sent with your contact information, then this isn’t good. You should contact the website’s owner and file a complaint with them. The Lock Symbols Has a Triangle With an Exclamation Point ( OK)Pages that don’t display a lock symbol in the web browser but have a warning symbol (yellow triangle with an exclamation point) next to it could still be secure but that’s not the best practice in website design.You might see a message like: “The site uses SSL, but Google Chrome has detected insecure content on the page.
Be careful if you’re entering sensitive information on this page. Insecure content can provide a loophole for someone to change the look of the page.”It means the connection for the page itself is secure but there are one or more elements on the page that did not get transmitted securely.It’s very easy for this to happen to a website, so don’t sweat it. One, small change to a website can trigger this. Security is still working but again, one or more elements (images, JavaScripts, etc.) are not being transmitted securely. If one image on a page isn’t secure, your credit card information is still being securely sent, so it’s fine.
An Extended Verification Certificate is Showing ( VERY GOOD)If a website has an, you’ll see an even bigger green bar. This kind of certificate costs more and it says that the company’s identity has been verified. Some people might even call this a “secure payment symbol.”This extra verification means a company has been verified to be a real business. It doesn’t mean that companies without this are not real businesses but just that companies that use extended verification certificates really want to show that they are trustworthy.
Do You See https But No Padlock? ( NOT GOOD)Why no padlock?If there’s not a padlock showing on an secure website or it’s crossed out or has an “x” on it, then it might look like this:If a website says https in the address bar but there’s no padlock (and you may see a slash through it), then that could mean the website is using a secure port but there isn’t an SSL certificate installed or it’s not currently up to date (was not renewed).This could show up as a “privacy error” and your web browser will display a warning before it lets you continue on to the website.
It’s doing this so that you know there’s a page that’s trying to be secure but it’s not actually secure or their certificate has expired. “This Website is Using an Invalid Certificate” ( BAD)When you see this message, it means that the certificate being used isn’t set up right or something doesn’t match up correctly and like it should.
This could simply be a web server that’s not set up the right way or it could mean something else is going on. It’s best to stay away from a website where this message is showing. Certificate is Expired ( OK)If a certificate is expired, then security is still working but the website owner or website host did not renew the security (SSL) certificate. You’ll see a warning message about this but you can accept it and get past it and go to the website if you want. They DO have security set up, it’s just expired. They might be working on getting it renewed. You Can Find Out More About the Security of a WebsiteTo learn more about how a website’s security works, you can click on that lock symbol.Click on the “Details” link and keep clicking – you can find out quite a bit:All the lock symbol does is say if the connection is secure or not.
You don’t ever know if the website is safe (the software it uses – and no software is 100% secure) from the lock symbol – again, it’s the connection that the lock is there for. Still Confused?Here’s a video explaining about the secure connection in your web browser:Look for the “https” in Your Browser’s Address BarSee if it shows “https” instead of just “http” – make sure the “s” is in the address bar in your web browser. You should see it and you may see more information about the security as well – depending on how strong the SSL is.Basic SSL (2048 bit) is secure enough right now.Some browsers now have the “and “part of the address hidden. You can turn that on if you want and I would suggest doing that so that you can better see which pages are secure and which ones are not.If you want to turn the http part back on in your browser bar, then here are articles on how to do it:. Firefox: (support.mozilla.org). Safari: (osxdaily.com)For Chrome, this page explains it:(superuser.com)-In the omnibox, browse to chrome://flags/#origin-chip-in-omnibox-Change the setting to “Disabled”-If the changes don’t take effect immediately (i.e. The full URL is still not shown), close and reopen Chrome Why no Padlock?
What if There Isn’t a Lock Symbol on a Credit Card Page?The problem that is most likely encountered when a page with a credit card form on it does not have the lock symbol is that there is an element or two on the page that was not transmitted to the website visitor securely.This item can be anything from a JavaScript file to a CSS file (style sheet) to an image or video. Good question but I don’t understand what you mean by “There is a padlock below the line which contain the credit card and CVV” – is that just an image of a padlock on the page? If so, that wouldn’t have any affect on anything.
What Does Lock The Taskbar Mean In Windows 7
And you can’t really split a page in half saying one half is secure and the other half isn’t. Maybe reply and explain that some more or give me the URL.If the form on the page “submits to” (technical term meaning “go to”) a secure script/page, then the information IS transmitted securely. Hello, I can see that this is a bit of an older post, but I am hoping to receive an answer. I purchased unknowingly from a website that had the lower case I symbol within a circle.
Windows 10 Taskbar Won't Lock
At the time, I was ignorant of the importance of the padlock. I put in a review, in which I mentioned the security issuethey denied it and responded that “my review did not meet their guidelines”. That is fine that they censor reviews, they have that right I suppose, but is there anything I can do or anybody that I can report them to? As I now believe that this is being done intentionally, as they did not apologize, acknowledge the issue, etc. I emailed them again, and they never responded. I checked the website and it sill is showing up as unsecure, and I know others probably are ignorant of this as well. I just would hate for these people to get away with this.
It seems sketchy as the company is UK based, but spread to California as well. The person who tried to charge over 1,000 on my card was from the UK so I am concerned that this is intentional, as the company is based there. Maybe my concerns are unfounded. Hi Nicole,I’ll try to help.A lower case symbol with a circle sounds more like a copyright symbol than a padlock, so I’m not sure what you mean there.Typically, a review is for a product, so telling them about a website security issue in a product review would be something they would reject. If there’s another way to communicate with them like a Contact Us form, do that.As my article explains, the page might actually be secure if the one you get to after you submit a form is secure.
What Does Locking The Taskbar Do
Maybe that’s what is going on.The best thing is to just not use a website that has security that doesn’t look good.