How to lock Windows 7 workstation after inactivity via GPO (no screensaver or blank screen- just lock screen)

Question

Our users have increasingly started leaving their workstations logged in and unattended (during lunch breaks etc.)

To tackle the security threat this poses, we have enforced a password-protected screensaver via Group Policy.

The DC server is running SBS 2003, and the workstations are now mostly Windows 7 (a couple of XP PCs still).

Screensavers popping up can be a little distracting, and screens going completely blank after 30 minutes can be confusing for some users, so I would like to have the workstations simply lock after 30 minutes instead. The monitors will eventually power off (after 60 minutes).

Auto-locking is easy to set manually...

...but I can't see a way to do this in Group Policy.

Does anyone know of a way this can be achieved in this SBS 2003/ Windows 7 environment?

Answer 1

A brief Google search gives what you need:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160619070432/http://www.bridgetonova.com:80/2007/11/how-to-lock-computers-when-idle-by-using-gpo.html

Update:

The idea is that you are enabling the screensaver option, but instead of specifying a real screensaver, you just make Windows execute the following command:

%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

This only locks the workstation without actually launching a screensaver.

Check the link for more detailed info.