microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin

"Joe M." wrote in message
news:DC79CBBF-E959-4991-BE54-8EE00E53253B@microsoft.com...
>
> "VanguardLH" wrote:
>
>> "Joe M." wrote ...
>>>
>>> Upon inactivity I would like to activate a password protected
>>> screensaver.
>>> However my screensaver settings in the display properties does not
>>> have a
>>> password option. I've heard that if your user account has a
>>> password
>>> then the
>>> screen saver will also, but this isn't the case. When my screen
>>> saver runs
>>> there's no password prompt. Can anyone help?
>>
>> You mean an option to enter the password, or an option to *enable*
>> password protection when the screen saver activates?There is an "on
>> resume" option to enable password protection. There is no input
>> field
>> to specify the password as the same one gets reused that you used
>> to
>> login to your Windows account. Are you saying that somehow the
>> dialog
>> window shown at
>> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_stop_windows_xp_screensaver_asking_for_my_password.html
>> no longer shows the "on resume" password protect option (even if
>> grayed out) shown in the red circle in the picture?
>>
>> Are you using the screen savers included in Windows or from a 3rd
>> party product?
>>
>> Do you use auto-logging to automatically log into your Windows
>> account
>> when you boot the computer?
>
> In answer to your questions:
>
> - There is no option to enable password protection.
> - It is not grayed out, it doesn't appear at all.
> - I do not use automatic logging. We have 3 user accounts and you
> must log
> on in the welcome screen.
> - These are with the Windows XP screensavers

Are you logged in under an admin-level account when you check the
screensaver settings?

Is(are) the host(s) in a domain? If so, group policy can dictate that
users cannot modify screensaver settings. That includes preventing
the users from changing the time to wait before activating the
screensaver and disabling password protection. Group policies are
recorded in the registry so it is also possible to enforce the same
behavior using a local security policy. I don't know what is the
registry setting. However, my recollection when using a group/local
policy to disable the password protect option (usually to force it
enabled) is that the option is greyed out to show that changing it is
disabled, not that it disappears completely from that dialog.

If you pick no screensaver (i.e., "(None)"), do the Wait and "On
Resume" option appear (but greyed out)? Do they appear (whether
greyed out or not) if you pick a different screensaver?