Even at the dawn of the development of computers with the first Windows-systems, many users came across such an interesting thing as a screensaver. What is it, then basically all users imagined, however, mistakenly considering this system tool to be just a screen saver. In fact, such applets can be noted and many other, no less useful functions.
Screensaver: what is it?
So, initially such screensavers were not only a means of decorating the monitor screen, although they performed a certain aesthetic function. The fact is that then mainly monitors were used, the cathode ray tubes of which were subject to rapid wear.
In order to extend their service life, it was necessary to turn them off periodically. But provided that several users could work on one computer, a normal shutdown did not guarantee information security, since any user could view what was displayed on the screen or activate, for example, minimized programs. Here the screensaver came to the rescue. What is it in terms of energy saving and safety?
A tool that allowed you to reduce the load on the monitor until it is completely darkened, and also, if necessary, set a password to exit the screen saver mode. In addition, such programs (namely, programs) had special settings for automatically activating the screensaver after a period of time set by the user when he was, say, absent from the workplace.
As a rule, most screensavers had (and have) the SCR format, although you can find others. But the biggest problem is that many dangerous viruses can disguise themselves as screensavers for Windows. The user, with full confidence that this is a screensaver, activates it (even if only for a preview), and ultimately receives the destructive impact of malicious code. So with such files you need to be extremely careful.
Screensavers
Today, screen savers as such have lost their energy-saving role (hibernation or hibernation is used for this) and are more likely a means of decorating the screen or used solely for advertising purposes.
This option is often used at various presentations and exhibitions, when, for example, a company logo or some other advertising information is displayed on the computer monitor as a screensaver, which undoubtedly attracts visitors to the stands. In addition, sometimes such techniques can be used when promoting websites, when it is necessary to form a target audience.
Windows screensavers: how to create and enable?
But back to the screensavers themselves. Today you can find quite a lot of programs that allow you to create screensavers from any graphic or video material in minutes. However, screensavers for Windows 7, for example, can be elementarily created without their use.
For example, when using the MOV video format, it is enough to save it as an EXE file in any editor, and then simply change the extension to SCR, since this format is also executable.
In specialized applications, everything is also simple: the necessary ready-made elements (animated GIFs, static graphic images, videos, etc.) are selected, dragged into a special window or field, after which the procedure for creating a screensaver in automatic mode is activated. We are not talking about creating complex animation now. But a simple screensaver for the 7th version of Windows or any other can be made, as is already clear, completely elementary.
When the screensaver is ready (or you downloaded it from the Internet), the file, in order to use it as a screensaver, must be placed in the System32 folder for x86-based systems or in the SysWOW64 directory for 64-bit operating systems.
Screensavers for Windows 7 are installed through personalization settings (RMB in the free space of the "Desktop") with the choice of the screen saver item. In the new window there are several settings by which you can change the splash screen itself, set the activation time when the computer is idle, make a preview or configure additional parameters. If necessary, you can also set a password to exit this mode.
A few words in the end
The article provided brief information about such a concept as a screensaver. What is it, sorted out. It remains to add that today the screen saver does not fulfill the global tasks that were originally assigned to it, but is used only as a tool to decorate the system or for advertising purposes (of course, to protect the image on the screen with setting an access password). Well, here the field of activity is very wide.