Remote lock and Lost Mode

When a company laptop is left unlocked, misplaced, or stolen, an admin can act on it from SecureForce without touching the machine. This uses the same Activity Tracker agent that already reports activity, so there is nothing extra to install — if the laptop shows up on Activity Tracking, it can be locked.

Who can do this: workspace Admin only. Locking someone's screen is not an HR or manager action, so the buttons do not appear for other roles, and the server refuses the request even if it is sent directly.

#Where to find it

Sidebar → Activity Tracking → open a laptop (or go to a device page directly at /devices/<id>). Admins see a Remote control card between the live activity and the Licence section. It has two actions: Lock screen and Turn on Lost Mode.

The card only works for a laptop that is connected to the tracker — one whose status is active or offline. A revoked, blocked, or never-installed laptop shows a short note saying it cannot be reached, because there is no agent there to receive the command.

#How commands reach the laptop

Nothing is pushed to the laptop directly, so this needs no open ports and works behind any office firewall or home Wi-Fi. Instead, the laptop's agent asks SecureForce for instructions on every check-in:

• While the laptop is online, that is about every 15 seconds, so a lock lands within a few seconds.
• While it is offline, the command waits in a queue and runs the moment the laptop next connects to the internet — even days later.

Because of this, the card never claims an action has already happened. A lock shows as sent until the agent confirms it ran; Lost Mode shows as waiting for the laptop to check in until the agent confirms the lock screen is actually up.

#Lock screen

Lock screen signs the current user out to the normal Windows lock screen, exactly like pressing Windows + L on the laptop. The employee can log straight back in with their usual password or PIN.

Use this for the everyday case: someone walked away from an unlocked laptop, or you want to end a session quickly. It is a one-time action, not a state — it does not stop the person using the laptop afterwards.

The card keeps a short history of recent locks and whether each one was carried out, so you can confirm a lock actually reached the machine.

#Lost Mode

Lost Mode is for a laptop that is lost or stolen. It is a state you switch on and later switch off — it is designed to be reversible so the same laptop works normally again once it is recovered.

While Lost Mode is on:

• The laptop locks immediately on its next check-in.
• After any sign-in attempt it shows a full-screen notice that cannot be closed, with the message and contact details you entered. The notice also appears on the Windows sign-in screen itself.
• The notice stays up through reboots and with no internet — a stolen laptop that is switched off and booted somewhere with no Wi-Fi still comes up locked.

Lost Mode is a strong visible deterrent and a "please return me" notice. It is not a kiosk lockdown: it does not block the power button or disk removal, and it cannot survive the hard drive being wiped and Windows reinstalled (nothing software-only can — that needs firmware-level tools built in by the laptop maker). It makes the laptop unusable and unmistakably flagged, which is what deters casual theft and helps return a mislaid machine.

#Turning Lost Mode on

1. Press Turn on Lost Mode.
2. Enter the message shown on the laptop. A sensible default is filled in; keep it short (up to 300 characters).
3. Optionally add contact details — a phone number or desk a finder can reach (up to 120 characters).
4. Confirm. SecureForce then shows you a one-time unlock code (see below).

Write the unlock code down. It is shown once and never again — SecureForce stores only a scrambled form of it, so it cannot be looked up later. Copy it or note it before closing that dialog.

You can change the message by turning Lost Mode on again with new text; this also issues a fresh unlock code and retires the old one.

#Turning Lost Mode off

There are two ways to release a laptop, and the laptop works normally again either way:

• From the dashboard — press Turn off Lost Mode on the device's Remote control card. The laptop unlocks on its next check-in. Use this once the laptop is back in safe hands.
• On the laptop with the unlock code — whoever recovers the laptop types the one-time code into the Lost Mode notice. This is checked on the laptop itself, so it works even with no internet, which is exactly the case where a found laptop is offline. SecureForce is told as soon as the laptop reconnects, so it does not put Lost Mode back on.

To stop guessing, the laptop pauses unlock attempts after five wrong codes, and the pause grows with each further wrong try.

#What is recorded

Every lock and every Lost Mode change is written to the workspace audit log with who did it and when — including a release done on the laptop with the unlock code. Nothing about the unlock code itself is stored in a readable form.

#A note on consent

Remote lock and location-style features belong in your company's device and acceptable-use policy, and employees should be told their company laptops can be locked remotely. SecureForce discloses monitoring on the laptop (the tray app says so), but the policy wording is the employer's responsibility. In India, treat this alongside your obligations under the DPDP Act.

#When it doesn't work

• The laptop never locks. It has to reach the internet at least once to receive the command. Check it shows a recent check-in on Activity Tracking; a laptop that has been offline for a long time only acts when it reconnects.
• The card says the laptop can't be reached. Its licence is revoked or blocked, or the agent was never installed. Re-install or unblock it first (see Activity tracking).
• The lock screen comes back but Lost Mode doesn't show. The agent needs its tray app running in the signed-in session to draw the full-screen notice; the service restarts the tray automatically, so give it one more check-in.

See also Activity tracking and software security and troubleshooting.