Windows operating system comes with a lock of itself. We can lock any Windows PC using the hotkey Win+L at any time instantly. In addition, we can also click on the Start, then click on the user profile picture/icon and then choose Lock from there. Some people also prefer to use the old method of using the Ctrl+Alt+Del hotkey and then choose the Lock option from the screen.
This way of locking the screen completely hides the contents of your desktop. In order to unlock the computer, we can press any key on the keyboard. After this, we have to enter the user credentials to log back in. The screen is unlocked instantly.
But what if you want to lock the screen without hiding the contents of your desktop? In this case, we can use a third-party application called Transparent Screen Lock. This software locks the Windows PC screen but does not hide the contents of the screen. You can see what is going on your Windows desktop but you cannot use the mouse or keyboard without unlocking the screen first.
In the Transparent Screen Lock application settings, we can choose from large number of options. We can configure automatic locking of the screen through this application. We can disable items from the Ctrl+Alt+Del screen. We can make some items disappear when the screen is locked, for example, we can hide the desktop icons. We can add the users or choose the users who would be able to lock or unlock the screen.
We can even configure the locking screen dialog. The default lock dialog shows the username, password and the domain name of the computer. We can also use the virtual keyboard for entering the passwords which is convenient if you have a touchscreen device.
You can download Transparent Screen Lock from https://www.e-motional.com/TScreenLock.html.