Tag Archives: lock screen

Access Your Entire Music Library From iOS Lock Screen With Tempus

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Gesture controls, playlist management and support for song lyrics might sound like features pretty standard to any music player, but imagine getting all this on the lock screen of your iPhone. This is what Tempus is all about. The tweak adds a ton of new music-related options to the iOS lock screen, along with a standalone music player that also works without having to unlock the device. Tempus offers access to your entire music library, complete with track info display, and the ability to quickly create temporary playlists. This multipurpose tweak also makes your lock screen perfect for scrobbling, thanks to the Twitter and Facebook sharing options available in the player mode, all while leaving the default playback controls unchanged. Read More

Unlock Windows 8 With USB Drive & Take Webcam Photos At Failed Login With Lockscreen Pro

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The logon screen in Windows 7 cannot be customized at all using the default available options; even changing the background of the logon screen requires you to use a third-party tool. In Windows 8, the lock screen of  has been revamped to include a lot more information and users are provided with some control over it, such as the ability to change its background, specify which apps can put notifications on it and view the date, time and current battery status of your system. However, there has been no significant change in the security of the system. Today, we have a lock screen application called Lockscreen Pro that replaces the regular lock screen with a custom one, providing you with options to unlock the computer with a password or a USB flash drive, and even uses the webcam to capture a photo every time there is an unsuccessful login attempt. Thus while preventing other people from accessing your computer, it also lets you see who tried to gain access to it without your permission. Moreover, you can change the lock screen background to a custom photo. Read More

Set Windows 8 Lock Screen To Cycle Through Background Images With Chameleon

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In Windows 7, there are no native options to customize your lock screen. For instance, if you want to change the background, you have to use a third party application, such as Windows 7 Logon Screen Tweaker, a portable tool that lets you change Logon screen UI elements such as the background and Windows 7 logo, and perform several other tweaks. In Windows 8 & RT, you get native lock screen customization options within the Personalize section of PC Settings, one of which is setting a custom background image. Now, you can pick any image from local storage, but unlike the desktop, the Windows 8 Lock screen does not cycle through a group of backgrounds of your choice. That is where Chameleon comes in. This Windows Store app takes Lock screen background customization one step further by automatically downloading and applying a different background after a user specified time interval. The app has built-in streams for famous wallpaper sources, including National Geographic Photo of the Day and Bing Picture of the Day. More on the app after the jump. Read More

Quick Launch: Android Lock Screen App With Widgets & iPhone-Style Notifications

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Adding to the ever-expanding list of Android lockscreen replacement apps is Quick Launch, which seems like a simple ring-style lockscreen with a search bar at first glance, but in reality, it is much more customizable than most of the alternatives that we’ve tried so far. For instance, it lets you place widgets of your favorite apps right on the lockscreen itself, and displays iOS-style lockscreen notifications for missed calls and unread text messages. The slider at the bottom lets you toggle between sound profiles with a mere swipe. Last but not the least, sliding the unlock ring to specific areas on the lockscreen, you can unlock directly to the camera app, or view and interact with recent contacts and apps. Read More

Get Windows Phone 8 Lock & Start Screen On Android With LauncherWP8

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Originally released in the Google Play Store in Chinese and later on translated into English by a couple of XDA members, LauncherWP8 is a Metro Modern UI-based free, customizable home and lock screen replacement app for Android. The launcher replicates the Windows Phone 8 UI to quite an extent, and puts you in complete control over the modification of various home screen elements, including the overall theme, the number, title, placement & layout of tiles and the associated app shortcuts & widgets. LauncherWP8 comes with a search tool for apps and a Windows Phone-like app drawer that displays all apps in alphabetical order on a vertically scrolling list. In addition, it comes packed with a customizable lockscreen whose layout, background image and font color can be tweaked as desired. While the launcher impresses with its extensive set of customizable features, it has leaves much to be desired when it comes to performance. However, if you are willing to overlook the slight lag, you will find the Windows Phone 8 launcher a treat to use. Read More

Get The Android HTC Sense Lock Screen On Your iPhone With ICSLock Pro

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While iOS can boast of being uncomplicated and almost lag-free, Android’s biggest strength lies in customization and cosmetic diversity. Android has several OEMs, each with its own visually unique version of the OS. While all OEMs put some signature UI elements in their firmware, HTC leads the pack in terms of uniqueness with the Sense UI. The ring-styled lock screen that was introduced in Sense 3.0 has grown so popular that it has been used in countless custom ROMs, and replicated by more than a few lock screen replacement apps. Now, you can enjoy the HTC Sense lock screen on iOS as well, that is, if you're jailbroken. ICSLock Pro is a Cydia app that replaces the default lock screen slider with the Sense unlock ring and four user-defined lock screen app shortcuts. Read More

LockPic Lets You Set Images From WallpaperFusion As Windows 8 Lock Screen Background

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Changing the wallpaper is one thing, but some people like to constantly switch things around on their computers. Earlier, we have covered several programs that allow you to search for wallpapers and apply them, both manually and automatically. Previously featured tools include Wallpaper Downloader, a tool for Windows that automatically downloads & applies Bing Wallpapers as desktop background on a regular basis, and Desktop Background Tuner, an application that allows you to choose multiple image folders for rotating desktop wallpapers. If you have a Smartphone, you must have noticed that other than the background image, it also allows you to change the lock screen image from the Display options. Since Windows 8 is optimized for both PCs and tablets, the available options are quite akin to what you have in portable devices. Today, we have an app for Windows 8 called LockPic that lets you change the lock screen image by selecting it from a library of images provided by WallpaperFusion. Read More

AnimateLockscreen: Apply Animated Backgrounds To Your iPhone’s Lock Screen

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A lot of people are iOS fans due to its interface and design. The iPhone operating system does have a really refined and polished look, but that doesn’t imply that users can’t get bored of its uniformity. Consider the lockscreen as an example. Although you can set as many new wallpapers as you want, they have got to be static images, and there is no way of using animations on your device’s lockscreen. Fortunately, if you own a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch, you can now set animations to appear on the lockscreen, thanks to the newly-released Cydia tweak 'AnimateLockscreen'. The best thing about the tweak is the fact that it is compatible with all the boot animations available in the Cydia store, so you can have a new animation on your lockscreen every day! Read More

Disable Lock Screen App Notifications For All Users In Windows 8 [Tip]

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Since Windows 8 is optimized for both PC's and tablets devices, there are some features that seem more PC oriented, while others feel to be more useful for tablet devices. Yesterday, we brought you a tutorial on how to prevent users from changing the Lock Screen image in Windows 8. Other than the clock, date, time and battery icons, the Lock Screen of Windows 8 also allows users to view app notifications for different apps, such as Messages, Calender, People etc. If you have a new message waiting, or a reminder in your calendar, the Lock Screen will show a notification on the Lock Screen reminding you to check out the new event. You are allowed to enable and disable application notifications from the Notifications tab in PC Settings. However, these settings are only User Account-specific, and if you disable notifications from your account, other PC users can still check app notifications from the Lock Screen when they log in to Windows 8. If you want to disable the Lock Screen notifications for all users, you can do that using the Windows 8 Local Group Policy Editor. In this post, we will show you how to disable the lock Screen notifications for all users on a Windows 8 device. Read More

How To Prevent Changing Of Lock Screen Image In Windows 8 [Tip]

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The Windows 8 Lock screen contains two basic elements: the lock screen image with dynamic icons for battery & network, application status message badges, and the login screen where you enter the password to log in to Windows. If you've been using Windows 8 beta versions, you may know that it allows users (administrators and standard users) to change the lock screen background image. If you're a system administrator, then you can prevent other PC users from changing the lock screen background image using Local Group Policy Editor. In what follows, we will guide you through the process of disabling lock screen image customization options. It will disable the Personalize >Lock Screen window (accessible from PC Settings) to restrict users from changing the default/currently applied lock screen background image. Read More

PaperLock Adds Paper-Themed Lock Screen Animations To Your iPhone [Cydia]

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Looks like the Unfold Cydia tweak (reviewed here) has started a really good epidemic. First, there was Unlockize (review), a tweak that borrowed the main concept behind Unfold but with more diversity, and now, PaperLock has arrived in the Cydia store. PaperLock is another collection of unlock animations for iPhone and iPod touch devices, and although it lacks the variety on offer in Unlockize, this new addition to Cydia brings a completely new flavor to lockscreen animations. The tweak has three animations (or themes, as it labels them) and all of them are designed to emulate some sort of paper. You can peel away the lockscreen of your device to reveal the Springboard or passcode screen. Read on for details regarding all the animations available in PaperLock. Read More

Hive Locker: Custom Android Lock Screen Replacement With Online Theme Library & Quick Access Controls

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Fresh to the Google Play Store, Hive Locker is a free, custom Android lockscreen replacement app with polished looks, an online theme and wallpaper library, and plenty of user-friendly features that help make your Android device’s lock screen productive as well as visually appealing. The app lets you explore and download various catchy lockscreen themes from its online repository and embellish your device’s lockscreen with a custom background image. It also supports its own neatly-built notification center that can display notifications pertaining to the total number of unread text messages, as well as the message content. The app also comes with its own built-in pattern unlock to help you secure your beloved Android. Moreover, it can be set to show/hide the status bar on the lockscreen, play various audio tones upon unlocking the device, and last, but not the least, brings several quick access controls that can be used to unlock straight to your favorite caller, messaging and camera app, toggle the flashlight On/Off, or circle between various sound profiles. Read More

Unfold: Fold Away Your iPhone’s Lock Screen Instead Of “Slide To Unlock” [Cydia]

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If you think every tweak in the Cydia store is there to add some useful new feature to your iOS device, you clearly haven’t seen enough of the jailbreak store. Cydia is all about customization. There are lots and lots of themes and cosmetic tweaks available there, and the latest to join them is Unfold. Just last week, a concept video made the rounds on the internet proposing an alternative to the familiar “Slide To Unlock” employed by iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Unfold brings that concept to life, and using this tweak, you can bid a fond farewell to “Slide To Unlock”. If you are using Unfold, you will still have to swipe across the bottom of your device’s lockscreen, but instead of a moving slider, the whole screen will fold away like a paper, revealing the Home screen, passcode lock or any app that was opened when the device was last locked. Read on to know more about Unfold, and to see the tweak’s beautiful animation in our screenshots. Read More

iLockit For Android: Lock Screen App With Unique Image-Based Methods Of Pattern Unlock

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Just a couple of weeks ago, we covered an Android app called Photo Lock Screen that allowed users to define their own custom tap sequence/patterns on an image of choice to unlock their screens. Sporting somewhat the same concept, but far more features, iLockit Lock Screen is another security-oriented Android app that has been around for quite some time now (way before Photo Lock Screen, it seems). iLockit offers as many as four different screen locking methods that you can use in a combination of your choice. For instance, you may set any image as the lockscreen's background and select a single point within it, tapping which will unlock the screen, or pick multiple points on the image that you must touch in some order to do the same. Then, there is a method that involves pressing and holding a specific point on the image for a desired time duration. You can also add an invisible line within the image and swipe across it to unlock. Read More

Bluetooth Screen Lock Automatically Locks Your Mac When A BT Device Moves Out Of Range

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Security may be equally important for everyone, but not everyone treats it as seriously as they should. While some people just don’t believe they have anything to a hide or no reason for anyone wanting to gain access to their personal files, it is no excuse to not protect your important data. For those that aren’t jumping at the latest military range defense and security systems, but would like to enable some level of security, the first place you can start is your Mac. There are people who are in the compulsive habit of locking their screens even if they bend down to tie a shoe lace while others are often forgetful of doing this simple little task to secure their systems. Bluetooth Screen Lock is a Mac app worth $0.99 that relieves you of the responsibility to lock your screen. The app lets you associate any Bluetooth enabled device with your Mac and when the device is no longer in range, it locks your screen. Read More

Photo Lock Screen: Define A Unique Unlock Pattern/Tap Sequence Over An Image Of Your Choice [Android]

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With your Android device holding all your personal and private information/data, you don’t want to be compromising on its security at any cost. This is precisely why your Android comes bundled with multiple device protection/locking tools, and this is exactly why all those handy alternative lockscreen Android apps are there for in the Google Play Store. Beside the default password, PIN and slider unlocking mechanism, your Android also provides you with the option to set a specific pattern that you can use to unlock your device. In the previously reviewed lockscreen replacement app, Mirage, we’ve already seen the concept of pattern-based unlocking stretched to new heights, where you are in control of defining a separate unlock pattern for various launchers, apps and the device itself. Wouldn’t it be great if you had the option to define your very own, unique unlock patterns traced over background images of your liking? Read More

SliderWidth: Change The iOS Lock Screen Slider Size & Text [Cydia]

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Customization is usually the main objective behind jailbreaking an iOS device. The Cydia store is full of themes, tweaks and apps which let users change even the most insignificant areas of an iPhone. This is a good thing because there are millions of iPhone users all over the world, and only through customization it is possible to make your iDevice stand out amongst the crowd. In customization, no area has been left behind, and there's a huge variety of lockscreen mods for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad on the Cydia store. Furthermore, now it is possible to thoroughly customize the slider on the lockscreen, using the Cydia tweak named SliderWidth. The tweak will let you change the width and text of the slider, and you can also tinker with the camera button on the lockscreen. Read on to find out what more can be done if you have SliderWidth on your iPhone. Read More

How To Disable Windows 8 Lock Screen

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In the past, we covered a guide on Windows 8 Lock Screen and discussed some of its features. The newly added Lock Screen is basically designed for tablet PCs, allowing users to quickly view the applications notifications, battery status, date and time, WiFi status/dynamic network icon etc. Although Windows 8 lets you tweak both Start and Lock Screen UI elements, it doesn’t provide an option to permanently disable it. You may know that Microsoft Management Console snap-in called Local Group Policy Editor allows system administrator(s) to tweak system core components and change default behavior of native utilities. Using the LGPE, you can easily disable the Lock Screen for all PC users. By default, Windows 8 shows Lock Screen at startup, but when it’s disabled, it takes you directly to Logon screen to choose the user account to log in to Windows. Read More

Mirage: Customizable Pattern-Based Lock Screen Replacement For Android

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Combining the functionality of various lock screen replacement apps and pattern lock, Mirage is a highly customizable lock screen replacement app for Android. The app supports setting individual pattern locks for installed launchers, individual apps and multiple custom app groups. No need to waste any more time by going through tedious navigation to access your favorite apps or being constantly worried that your personal content might fall into the wrong hands. Other salient features of Mirage include personalizing the app’s lock screen interface via various downloadable skins/themes, creating multiple customizable app drawers (each sporting shortcuts to apps of your choice), setting speed dial for contacts of your choice, and most importantly, a strong security mechanism to protect your Android from unauthorized access. Read More

FullLockCamera: Launch Complete Camera App From Lock Screen [Cydia]

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There are many features which Apple has built into iOS to improve its security, but for most people, they can prove to be a bit of a nuisance. Take the example of the stock Camera app. Although it can be launched from the lockscreen of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (which was a big improvement in iOS 5), you can only shoot a photo and preview the ones you have taken in the present sessions only. This might be good for privacy reasons, but if you are pretty sure that no one else uses your phone other than yourself, it can get a bit annoying when you launch the camera from the lock screen and can’t view your older photos, or share them with friends. Now, there is a Cydia tweak for that. FullLockCamera makes sure that you don’t get a locked version of the camera app even when it has been launched from the lock screen of your iDevice. Read More