Change Security & Privacy General preferences on Mac
Use the General pane of Security & Privacy preferences to protect your Mac from malware and tampering.
To change these preferences on your Mac, choose Apple menu 
, then click General.
Note: If the lock at the bottom left of the pane is locked 
, click it to unlock the preference pane.
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Change Password | Change the login password for the current user. See Ways to remember passwords and If you forget your login password. |
Require password... after sleep or screen saver begins | Lock your Mac when it’s left in an idle state. When the Mac wakes, a user login password must be entered before the Mac can be used. You can select the amount of time after the screen saver or sleep begins before a password is required. |
Show a message when the screen is locked | Display a short message in the login window when your Mac is locked. The message is shown to any users who attempt to log in. It can also be used to provide contact information for a lost Mac. |
Disable automatic login | Require users to log in with a password after restarting the Mac. This feature isn’t available if FileVault is on. |
Allow your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac | Use your Apple Watch (instead of entering your password) to unlock apps when they require a password and unlock your Mac when you wake it from an idle state. See Unlock your Mac and approve requests with Apple Watch. This option is available only if your Mac supports Auto Unlock. |
Allow apps downloaded from | Protect your Mac from malware by only allowing apps that come from the App Store or from identified developers.
|
System software blocked | Load system extensions from the developer of recently installed software. |
Advanced | Increase the security on your Mac by automatically logging out after a period of inactivity and limiting access to system-wide preferences. |