SlyFerret

Loc: Delaware, Ohio
Registered on 12-19-06
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Re: Trying to Stop Network Screensaver 03-25-08 08:15 AM - Post#162690
In response to Logan 5
Logan, you may have made a critical mistake.
If you had kept it to yourself, nobody would have been any the wiser.
Now that you've shared it, I'll guarantee that news will at some point
get back to the IT department. As I said before, I'm sure this is in
violation of the rules and regs.
Good luck!
-SF
Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been notified. |
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Danial.Beta

Loc: The Internet
Registered on 01-16-08
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03-25-08 08:21 AM - Post#162691
In response to Logan 5
Seems like the simple solution would be to use
AutoIt or AutoHotKey to move the mouse in a random direction by 1px
once every 10 minutes. It would take me maybe five minutes to wip up a
script to do with, and it could be made into a .exe easily enough.
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Danial.Beta

Loc: The Internet
Registered on 01-16-08
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03-25-08 08:27 AM - Post#162692
In response to Danial.Beta
Sly: You are right, he really should have just
talked to the IT department first. Our systems lock after 15 minutes to
prevent other users from messing with computers that aren't theirs, or
to prevent clients from gaining access to any un-manned machines. It is
a nice security feature, and I would frown upon anyone trying to break
it.
The simple solution is to just make sure you move the mouse from time
to time. I do this on my home machine while watching long videos
online, and it isn't that hard. And if you wanted a truly crazy/IT
Friendly/fun way of doing it, you could create a hardware device to
roll the ball in the mouse or slide the surface over the light so that
there is movement. It would be awesomely complicated.
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SlyFerret

Loc: Delaware, Ohio
Registered on 12-19-06
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03-25-08 12:42 PM - Post#162712
In response to Danial.Beta
Out of curiosity, how do you stop this little program from functioning? Is the only option a reboot?
-SF
Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been notified. |
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Average Midget
Registered on 03-04-08
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03-25-08 03:01 PM - Post#162727
In response to SlyFerret
Out of curiosity, how do you stop this little program from functioning? Is the only option a reboot?
I'm not sure what you mean. The "lean" version has an option to disable
or enable the screen saver, right from the interface, you can also just
close the program and it'll revert right back to your normal screen
saver settings. The GUI version has several ways to enable or disable
the screen saver (you can also enable and disable from the notification
tray, when it's minimized). It, too, will revert back to the standard
screen saver settings, when the program is closed.
Actually, that's a little misleading, it never changes your settings,
at all. It only calculates, based on the screen saver timeout, when it
should move the mouse and does so with a value of zero pixels.
I'm not really sure where you got the notion that you would have to reboot. The program is not malicious.
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SlyFerret

Loc: Delaware, Ohio
Registered on 12-19-06
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03-25-08 03:03 PM - Post#162728
In response to Average Midget
I didn't download it.
I was under the impression it was just a little .exe that you run to
stop the screen saver. I was wondering how to make it stop running. I
didn't realize there was a UI.
-SF
Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been notified. |
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Logan 5

Loc: California
Registered on 03-10-08
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03-25-08 06:38 PM - Post#162745
In response to Danial.Beta
You and SlyFerret obviously don't get it.
Yes, if I worked someplace where other people could get to my computer
while I was away, then I would wrong in looking for a way to stop the
screensaver without talking to IT first.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. No one can get access to my pc
without my knowing it, except when I leave my room which I lock.
Remember, I teach in a classroom in which I'm always present. Now, I
know it's hard to imagine for someone who is probably only responsible
for themselves or maybe a few others colleagues at work, but I teach
between 30-45 students each class (over 170 between 5 classes) and have
a ton of other priorities during that class time to worry about without
having to remember to move the damn mouse every 19 minutes. And no,
even with that many students in each class, no one touches my pc - not
even my aides.
And why not ask IT to change it? We have... Countless times by numerous
teachers. Our District's IT motto is basically: "do what's best and
easiest for IT and who cares how it affects the teachers or their job".
Apparently, teachers only exist to keep IT busy.
And lastly, your assumption that I told the whole school about this
program is comical. Why would I get this and then shoot myself in the
foot? Teachers (plural) just means more than 1; I'm keeping this within
the small group of people I know and who would actually benefit from it. Only a small faction use a pc/LCD combo so far.
I'll get off my soapbox now...
No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. |
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HAL 9000

Loc: Chicago Illinois
Registered on 04-04-05
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Trying to Stop Network Screensaver 03-25-08 07:00 PM - Post#162748
In response to Logan 5
You'll find out soon what IT thinks of it...
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Average Midget
Registered on 03-04-08
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03-25-08 10:07 PM - Post#162766
In response to HAL 9000
There is a fundamental problem with this whole
system. It's become a "Me or them" situation, and I'm not sure it needs
to be. I can respect that it might be overwhelming to treat every
request on a case-by-case basis, when you're administering hundreds of
users, but for smaller networks, I think there could be some "give"
under special circumstances. Like a teacher who just wants to teach his
students and wants to shut off the screen saver while the video is
playing. If you're an IT person, and you take such a "hard-nosed"
approach, you can not be surprised when someone goes around it.
Teaching has got to be hard enough, it doesn't need obstacles, making
it harder.
Anyway, Logan, I'm glad it helps you and whomever you passed it on to.
I've always been a proponent of teachers getting more respect (and
pay...that's a crime).
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Average Midget
Registered on 03-04-08
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03-25-08 10:33 PM - Post#162772
In response to Danial.Beta
Danial.Beta, I will look beyond the fact that you
apparently didn't read the whole thread because you state to contact
the IT department first, when Logan 5 clearly said, in their second
post, that they did contact IT...I'll just quote it.
"We talked to Admin when we first heard they were going to
implement this "feature". They said we would just get used to it and
that was that."
I don't, however, understand this statement...
"And if you wanted a truly crazy/IT Friendly/fun way of doing it..."
How is that anymore "IT Friendly" than temporarily keeping the screen
saver from coming on, programmatically. It's doing the same thing, only
in a more elegant way.
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SlyFerret

Loc: Delaware, Ohio
Registered on 12-19-06
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03-26-08 06:00 AM - Post#162784
In response to Logan 5
Logan, I do get it.
First: You're a teacher. You work with a room full of kids all day and
you think that the people you told won't tell anyone else, or that
those people won't tell others? At some point, word will get back to
the IT department.
Second: How on earth would a screen saver do anything to preserve IT
jobs during budget cuts? That's just a silly statement. It's a cheap
tactic frequently used when making an argument. It is an opinion stated
as fact to assist in supporting your position. I'm sure you wouldn't
let your students get away with that in an essay.
When the screen saver kicks on, does it require a password in order to get back to what you were doing?
-SF
Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been notified. |
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Average Midget
Registered on 03-04-08
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03-26-08 09:09 AM - Post#162794
In response to SlyFerret
Once again, I will quote Logan's second post (I
seem to be doing that a lot...I'm wondering if anyone besides Logan and
I have read it.)
"when was the last time you showed a 21+ minute video to a class and had the login screensaver come up"
"login" being the key word. I will add that, at my place of employment,
I have to enter my username and password every time the screen saver
comes on. Goes off, to be more accurate.
If you want to get all mathy on it, say it takes me 5 seconds to enter
my username and password. That doesn't sound totally outrageous. Since
I'm constantly away from my desk (I do physical work, as well) we'll
say I do this 10 times a day. That's 50 seconds a day. 22 days a month,
comes out to 18.333 minutes a month. Take that out to a year and it's
3.666 hours a year I spend typing in my username and password, just so
I can turn off the screen saver (I won't even get into all of the other
usernames and passwords I have to, not only remember, but use daily.
There are four total). It's a very unproductive thing. I know I can be
accused of trying rationalizing it, but its the truth.
I'm not saying it should be completely done away with, but maybe give
the user some option to bypass it, under special conditions. I would
even be up for saying, if the user is abusive of that privilege, take
it away.
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SlyFerret

Loc: Delaware, Ohio
Registered on 12-19-06
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Trying to Stop Network Screensaver 03-26-08 10:31 AM - Post#162800
In response to Average Midget
The problem is that login screen saver is there
for a reason (and that reason is not to save IT jobs during budget
cuts). It is there to require a password to access the machine. It is
there to control access. It is there to protect the network and the
data stored on the network.
If this program is used, and accidently left running so that the screen
saver never comes on, and the teacher leaves the room, or the building
(for the day or the weekend), that computer will be left accessible.
One issue is that the janitors have access to classrooms when teachers
are not present. My mothers school district had a severe problem about
5 years ago with custodians using classroom computers at night while on
the clock.
In addition to custodians goofing off on the job...
This is a serious breech of security policy, and if the IT department
finds out about it through the grapevine, they would not be doing their
job if they did not seek disciplinary action against Logan. They would
not have a choice. If they turn a blind eye, their own jobs may be in
jeopardy.
While most people might not give it much thought, there is a lot of
sensitive data on that school network that needs to be protected.
Students grades are only one example. Another example might be school
financial/accounting information. A third type of sensitive information
on the network would be information that the guidance counselors might
have on specific students regarding issues they have in their lives
that may be linked to drug/alcohol use, abuse, legal trouble, etc... Of
course, these are only a few examples.
Here's where I'm torn, as an IT guy:
Logan had a problem, and sought help from the community here. Nothing
wrong with that, that's why we're here. AverageMidget (if that is your
real name...) stepped up and coded up a solution to the problem.
Fantastic! I wish more people in this world were willing to help each
other out like that. The solution seems to be a good one.
I'm glad to see people get the help they seek here, but I'm concerned
about the ramifications that might come about when the IT department
discovers it.
But... I was being completely serious in my previous post about making
a mistake by sharing this tool. The cat is out of the bag, and Logan no
longer has control over who uses it, shares it, or talks about it.
It only takes one (dumb) person to hear about it and go ask the IT
department if they can have a copy of the program that disables the
screen saver.
Only time will tell. I hope it doesn't end badly.
-SF
Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been notified. |
Edited by SlyFerret on 03-26-08 10:31 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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Danial.Beta

Loc: The Internet
Registered on 01-16-08
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03-26-08 12:24 PM - Post#162817
In response to SlyFerret
Sorry, I was only glancing over the posts, but by
asking the IT staff I meant more along the lines of asking them if it
was OK to run the program.
As for Sly's question on how to end it, it would be a hotkey If I
created it. It would be a background proccess so you would hardly know
it was running, but hitting a button combo at any point would end it.
I have made plenty of little applets like that, not specifically to
keep the screensaver gone, but it would take seconds to change them to
make them do the job(Basically disabling everything but a mouse move
and putting in a delay).
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SlyFerret

Loc: Delaware, Ohio
Registered on 12-19-06
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03-26-08 12:30 PM - Post#162818
In response to Danial.Beta
It's not a bad solution at all. I'm actually impressed that AM put it together so quickly.
I'm just worried about what may come about on Logan's end.
-SF
Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been notified. |
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Danial.Beta

Loc: The Internet
Registered on 01-16-08
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03-26-08 12:43 PM - Post#162821
In response to SlyFerret
Look up AutoIt to see how simple it really is.
It's a scripting language specifically made to make automating
installers easy. Basically you can simulate any user input and even
pick out form IDs and have them automatically filled in. It's really
handy, but also really simple. It speeds up deployment of software
right before tax season.
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Average Midget
Registered on 03-04-08
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03-26-08 01:11 PM - Post#162826
In response to Danial.Beta
SlyFerret, I'm not trying to speak for Logan, but
one way that it could be seen as "trying to save IT jobs" is in the
fact that this is a new implementation. That, to me, sounds like the IT
department suddenly throws in some new requirements and tells the
school board that they need to maintain these security standards...the
ones they never had before. I'm going to take your being impressed as a
compliment, so thank you!
Danial.Beta, AutoIt, while it might be a great program, looks like it
needs to be installed. Being an IT person (I'm assuming so, by what
you've said) you should know that the average user doesn't have install
rights. Imagine if you had a user come to you and ask if you would let
them install AutoIt.
As far as a global hotkey, that is definitely a way to do it, but that
also means your program has to request all Windows messages (usually by
a system wide hook) and, unless your hotkey combination is completely
unique, you run the risk of changing your screen saver settings if the
user hits that same hotkey in a different program. The chances are good
that the user wouldn't even know they changed the settings and then
walk away, leaving the computer wide open.
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SlyFerret

Loc: Delaware, Ohio
Registered on 12-19-06
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03-26-08 01:21 PM - Post#162829
In response to Average Midget
I'm going to take your being impressed as a compliment, so thank you!
Please do.
I'm just hoping Logan doesn't get into trouble.
-SF
Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been notified. |
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Danial.Beta

Loc: The Internet
Registered on 01-16-08
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03-26-08 02:08 PM - Post#162837
In response to SlyFerret
Actually, an AutoIt script can be packed in with
all the required stuff into one .exe. Pretty simple. I only have it
installed on one machine at work, but I make it into an exe for the
rest of the machines to use. I hear a lot of people singing the praises
of AutoHotKey too, but I don't know if it has the same feature.
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Logan 5

Loc: California
Registered on 03-10-08
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03-26-08 09:15 PM - Post#162860
In response to SlyFerret
Yes, the screensaver requires a password.
I forgot to mention the other problem this brings up: I ended up typing
in my password in front of students between 1-3 times each class
period. An observant student could probably guess my password after
just a few days of watching me type it it. Just last week one of my
aides, who I trust, told me what the first 3 characters I my password
were; he was just casually observing my as I typed it in (needless to
say I have changed it).
No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. |
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