How To Disable Screen Lock in Lubuntu

In this article, we will guide you through the process of disabling the screen lock in Lubuntu. Lubuntu is a lightweight Linux distribution that uses the LXDE desktop environment. One of its features is a screen lock that automatically activates after a period of inactivity. While this is a useful security feature, there might be situations where you want to disable it.

Understanding Screen Lock

The screen lock feature is designed to prevent unauthorized access to your computer when you’re away from it. However, if you’re in a secure environment or find the feature inconvenient, you might want to disable it.

In Lubuntu, the screen lock feature is managed by a program called light-locker. This program starts automatically when you log in and runs in the background, waiting for periods of inactivity to lock your screen.

Disabling Screen Lock in Lubuntu

There are several ways to disable the screen lock in Lubuntu. We’ll cover the most common methods below.

Method 1: Disabling Light-Locker Autostart

1. Open Terminal. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard.
2. Enter the following command to disable system-wide startup of light-locker:

sudo mv /etc/xdg/autostart/light-locker.desktop /etc/xdg/autostart/light-locker.desktop.bak

This command uses sudo to run the operation with administrative privileges. The mv command is used to move or rename files. In this case, we’re renaming the light-locker.desktop file to light-locker.desktop.bak, effectively disabling the autostart of light-locker.

3. Reboot your system to apply the changes.

Method 2: Modifying User-Specific Light-Locker Settings

1. Open Terminal.
2. Enter the following command to edit the user-specific light-locker.desktop file:

leafpad ~/.config/autostart/light-locker.desktop

This command opens the light-locker.desktop file in the leafpad text editor. The tilde (~) represents your home directory, and .config/autostart/ is the directory where autostart programs are defined.

3. In the file, locate the line that starts with Exec=. This line specifies the command that starts light-locker.
4. Remove the command specified in the Exec= line so that it is empty.
5. Save the changes and close the text editor.
6. Reboot your system to apply the changes.

Method 3: Uninstalling Light-Locker

If you don’t need the screen lock feature at all, you can uninstall light-locker.

1. Open Terminal.
2. Enter the following command to remove light-locker and its settings:

sudo apt-get purge light-locker light-locker-settings

This command uses sudo to run the operation with administrative privileges. apt-get is the package handling utility in Ubuntu, and purge is used to remove packages and their configuration files.

3. Reboot your system to apply the changes.

Method 4: Using LXSession Default Applications

1. Open the LXSession configuration tool. You can do this by clicking on the Lubuntu logo in the bottom left corner of your screen, then going to Preferences > Default applications for LXSession.
2. In the configuration tool, navigate to the Autostart tab.
3. Uncheck the options for screensaver and screenlocker.
4. Reboot your system to apply the changes.

Conclusion

Disabling the screen lock in Lubuntu can be done in several ways, depending on your specific needs and preferences. Whether you choose to disable light-locker’s autostart, modify its user-specific settings, uninstall it, or use the LXSession configuration tool, you now have the knowledge to customize your Lubuntu experience to suit your needs. As always, be sure to secure your system in other ways if you choose to disable the screen lock feature.