Bug 401647 – x11-misc/slock-0.9:0 exhibits erratic behaviour

• Product: Gentoo Linux
• Status: RESOLVED UPSTREAM

[Description Longpoke 2012-01-31 15:28:03 UTC]

If you mistype your password in slock, and retype it properly right after, it almost never unlocks. Sometimes you have to move the mouse before it unlocks, or switch vtys back and forth, etc.

Steps to reproduce:
1. execute slock
2. type: a<enter>b<enter>c<enter>
3. type your real password, followed by enter
4. does weird crap instead of immediately unlocking the desktop... if you wait 10 seconds, it still wont unlock, but once you move the mouse, it does.

Behaviour is inconsistent, but it's doing a bunch of weird things like this. I don't consider the program usable or in a stable state.

I'm running xmonad, though I used to have the same problem with slock and openbox.

[Comment 1 Jeroen Roovers (RETIRED) 2012-01-31 17:42:31 UTC]

It's worked fine for me for many years. When you enter the wrong password, wait a bit (1000 milliseconds to be precise) before trying again. I'll browse further through the source code to figure out how it actually deals with this - maybe we ought to simply document it.

[Comment 2 Longpoke 2012-02-03 21:07:54 UTC]

Well one really bad problem from this is that you type your password wrong, then type it again correctly, but you think you messed up, then then screen is unlocked a few seconds later when you aren't looking. You then leave your computer and it's vulnerable the entire time you're gone.

[Comment 3 Jeroen Roovers (RETIRED) 2012-02-04 17:16:21 UTC]

I think those were design choices. There's nothing Gentoo can do about them. We offer plenty of other display locking tools, though.