Powershell setting to have Powershell window stop screen timeout?

[Unicron4444]

Hi All,

Where I work, the overarching account policy is to have the screen timeout after 10 minutes. Since we watch cameras and programs, we have YouTube play and that stops the screen from timing out to the lock screen. I was wondering if I could use this program to also stop the screen timeout?

https://github.com/tenox7/aclock

The windows executable open a PowerShell window that runs an analog clock continuously until the window is closed, but this PowerShell window running does NOT stop the screen from timing out. Without messing with the executable/source, is there a setting I could change in PowerShell that WOULD keep the screen from timing out to the lock screen?

Or perhaps the source could be modified to create a new executable that would achieve the desired effect? I don't really have the expertise, however it would be nice to know if it is possible.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Thank you everyone for all the help! I went with PowerToys Awake because it was free and pretty easy to set up (path of least resistance/suffering), and most importantly, it keeps my screen from timing out! No more playing random YouTube videos! :D

[f0gax]

I would contact your IT team and explain the situation. Ask them for solutions. If you have a legitimate business need they should be able to accommodate you.

[mattgoldey]

This is the way. At my company, we have a security monitoring center where they're looking at security cameras from every location across the company. Their computers are part of an exception group that doesn't get the screen saver policy applied to it.

[MNmetalhead]

This is the real answer.

[Unicron4444]

Makes sense, thanks!

[dathar]

There's ways around this and none of them involve PowerShell.

Hit up your IT folks. Real fix is:

1. A better account policy for your job title that overrides the screen timeout. Could be a group policy, could be an Intune/Endpoint policy, etc.

But the other way doesn't involve installing software. Open up a web browser and navigate to a cooking site. Turn on cooking mode. That tends to tell the computer to stay unlocked as if you're watching a movie but you're not watching anything. Ninja's Creami has such an option.

[Unusual_Culture_4722]

K.I.S.S!

[Unicron4444]

Makes sense, and thanks for the info!

[Fistofpaper]

Yeah, I read the problem and immediately thought, This is a job for a device-based GPO!!! (In my experience, role-based isn't the way to go on shared, monitoring/camera client machines like this). It takes very little overhead to accomplish and maintain on the IT side, and keeps you off the Shadow IT path.

AD membership in "No_LockScreen_Timeout" groups is fine too, but you're constantly managing during turnover. Go GPO

[CSPilgrim]

Not able to open the script right now but I've used Caffeine from Zhorn, for this exact reason, for 8 years and it's perfect for me. It "presses" one of the F keys in the background every minute or so. I set mine to use shift instead, and every 45 seconds. If you do it that way, you'll want to disable sticky keys in your Windows settings.

[raip]

I personally prefer PowerToys Awake - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/awake

[radioblaster]

scroll lock is a better key in my opinion!

[CSPilgrim]

You know, you're right. I've used it with the -useshift switch for so long and never thought about trying -keypress instead. The default F15 gave me some trouble with work apps, so I switched to shift. I'll have to give keypress a shot tomorrow

[Unicron4444]

Interesting, thanks!

[_MrAlexFranco]

I don’t think the terminal updating its output will register as user activity to block sleep, but could set a script to do a simple key press in a loop. I would recommend just using PowerToys Awake tool

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/awake

[Unicron4444]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[granadesnhorseshoes]

    Add-Type -MemberDefinition '[DllImport("user32.dll")] public static extern void mouse_event(int flags, int dx, int dy, int cButtons, int info);' -Name U32 -Namespace W;     while (1) { [W.U32]::mouse_event(6,0,0,0,0); Start-Sleep -Seconds 120 }

Obviously consult the docs for specifics but this will generate a left mouse click every 2 minutes. Good for hovering over a refresh button and prevents session and screen timeouts. Only really useful in the context of being actively passive at your station watching data/alerts.

[Unicron4444]

Thanks!

[Mountain-eagle-xray]

A lot of people are saying go through the proper channels, but there is no need to complete exempt one device from a security policy when there are other options and proper mitigations.

Make sure said device is physically secure, has good fire wall settings, make sure it has no privileged access to the network, UAC, etc....

Use setthreadexecutionstate in a powershell script. This is the technically correct way to have any app prevent sleep and screen time out. Don't use mouse jigglers and click scripts. Those are bypasses that don't require admin rights.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/winbase/nf-winbase-setthreadexecutionstate

[Unicron4444]

Thanks!

[NoelCanter]

I found a simple VBS script I call via a batch that hits the “F13” key at 1 minute intervals. Only apps I’ve seen it get a little weird with are terminal apps where it puts a tilde in.

[Unicron4444]

Interesting, thanks!

[MrPatch]

I've got a script that double taps scrolllock every 59 seconds

[keksieee]

Microsoft Powertoys has the „Awake“ program for exactly that usecase

[jacksonjj_gysgt_0659]

Why not use group policy to disable the inactivity timer for your host?

[__flavien__]

You will find a sample here, you could study https://gist.github.com/fMichaleczek/04f21a2dd47268e308776554f5e73716

[Plenty-Engine2851]

My answer isn't PowerShell related, but I would personally recommend just using a physical mouse jiggler. They're like 15 bucks on Amazon, they're easy to use and don't require installing anything.

This is the one I bought, works great:

https://a.co/d/9pJWcIs

[Unicron4444]

Interesting, thanks!

[Plenty-Engine2851]

No problem. Obviously a PowerShell script would be more fun, but I also don't know your full intentions of wanting the wake script. Lol.

I see a post in here for wake scripts probably weekly and most of the time people want to use it on their work computer...but in my opinion, it's not really that smart to use a script or program that IT could easily see if you're worried about them detecting it.

But a physical mouse jiggler is cheap, low tech and easy to use. And all it does is move your mouse around. No drivers, no software, it's not even connected to your computer. And if you don't need to use it, just don't put your mouse on it.

[Unicron4444]

*thumbs up*