Hi,
I just spent 20 minutes trying to figure out why my the screensaver on my Win11 Pro daw box doesn’t work anymore. I gave up and googled for it landed here. So, I closed Cubase completely and now the screensaver works again as designed.
Shane_Taylor, this bugs me too. I’m not real happy either. Hopefully we can count that the devs are aware of the issue. I’ll look forward to getting a forum reply that says, "Problem resolved, please install . . . "
Regards and best of luck
Yeah, I feel ya. I’ve quit using Cubase and have gone back to Reaper and Bitwig for the time being. Also been looking at Studio One. It wasn’t worth the hassle, electricity cost, or security risks to me to close my project every time I left my computer. That’s just ridiculous behavior, esp. when making it an option would be SO easy. I’ll keep checking back to see if anything changes. Def won’t be upgrading until it does.
I’m new to Cubase 11 Pro and don’t have it in production yet. I’ve only been training-on it for a couple hours a day. I’m coming from IT, and at least for me, security is the #1 priority on any business or personal computing device that is used for financial, eCommerce or business production activities. Everything else is secondary: That is unless you don’t mind giving away your financial assets and your company’s hard work for free. Bad security and/or apathetic attitude , and it’s only a matter of when, not if. Consoles should always be locked if you plan to walk away for an extended length of time (that includes lunch time and and other out-of-cubicle excursions). Like you, I like for the screen saver to handle that automatically as much as possible. Devs are very security conscious and I suspect they’ll will have a patch for this shortly. They don’t want to see their product name on news feeds for a security flaw either.
Regards . . .
Why not lock the desktop when you walk away from the machine?
Yes I do that!
Nircmd has a small utility I’ve used for years on Windows PCs. Below is my dot cmd file code to power off the monitor and lock it at the same time. I’ve also added a keyboard shortcut to the cmd file’s Windows properties so I don’t even have to grab a mouse. Here’s my script in a cmd file I named “MonitorOffAndLockPC”:
@echo off
:: nircmd.exe monitor off (btw, “::” means don’t run this line)
nircmd.exe monitor async_off
nircmd.exe lockws
Here’s the link to the very well known NirCmd site. Legal: Use at your own risk and discretion. No warranties expressed or implied here whatsoever.
https www nirsoft dot net slash utils slash nircmd dot html
I’ve used this for like 20 years.
(But hey devs, I still want Cubase fixed asap please: )
Regards . . .
I have my bottom left corner assigned to monitor off using hot corners on the MAC, just had a quick search for a similar windows app & found this page which is maybe worth a try.
For those that don’t know what it is, hot corners is built into macos & allows you to assign an action to each corner of the screen which is triggered when the mouse is moved there.
Ha! I’ve been using (and supporting) nirsoft for YEARS, but never this particular tool. His stuff is great and I’ve never had a problem with any of it. I will definitely give this and the other options posted below a try.
We don’t want to make it easy for professional SW manufacturers to write sloppy, insecure SW, though. So I agree, a forthcoming fix with an option to disable the screensaver/lock hijack would be preferred to resorting to third-party workarounds.
Thanks for the head’s up!
Can you stop this, please. This is a DAW, not a business software.
There is no security issue. The issue is the person in front of the screen.
It is very easy to hit Windows+L to lock the screen. This is not disabled.
A screensaver consumes energy as it is an active process running in the foreground and prevents monitors from going to sleep.
If you use an Azure Domain or a Windows Domain, you can set group policies to enable automated screen locks.
I humbly submit that if you’re using your daw for doing music/film production, and that’s how you earn your living, then the security concern is valid.
However, if you’re just having fun and not worried about security issues, then just reinstall Windows and Cubase (or some pre-hacked/malwared image) and have at it again full speed ahead!
I’m thinking this is what we’re talking about here. It comes down to how you use Cubase; for business or for pleasure. The nice part is that it’s fun, even when it is for business. Like a painter who’s day job is working in an artist supply store.
Happy Windows+L
Very nice!
I just took a look at the script in the email that just arrived. I’ll put that on the things to try list. Thanks for the new wrench : )
I don’t get the point.
I make money with the use of all kinds of software.
Nuendo, Wavelab, VMix, Resolve, Atem Software, Powerpoint, remote apps for mixing desks, media server control software and others.
Security issues discussed in this topic will stay security issues, no matter if a screen saver is enabled or not.
To leave a computer with sensible data alone in public access for a minute until the screen saver jumps in is already a security issue.
In my business field, we never use screen savers. We just use our brain.
If the data is sensible, the computer is not accessible by others.
Just because you don’t recognize this as a security issue, that doesn’t make it not a security issue. In fact, it makes it an even bigger one for you.
Also, go ask Hans Zimmer if his Cubase rig isn’t his “business” SW. I’ll wait…
True, but my system’s configuration settings to auto-lock and turn the monitors off, is. That’s the issue here.
Screensaver consumes energy? Not if it is blank like mine, and not if the monitors are turned off as I have them configured to do (and the amount of processing power to run the screensaver is infinitesimal, at best). Screensavers also DO NOT prevent the monitors from going to sleep. They are two entirely different features. When I say “screensaver”, I’m referring to a blank screen, since the need for that random screen activity is obsolete and unnecessary today.
This is irrelevant, and none of it will override what Steinberg has done here, either. You don’t need group policies, or a Domain, or Azure, Siri, Google, or Alexa, to configure your monitors to turn off and your system to lock. You can easily do that yourself in Settings.
You might start at the top of this thread and read it. It might make more sense then.
The security issue is only part of the problem with Steinberg’s approach to providing an uninterruptable process when recording. Every other DAW does it correctly, and doesn’t force this odd behavior on their users. Besides being poor Windows programming practice, it creates security and energy cost issues for some users, not to mention the fact that user’s weren’t notified that their system’s security settings were changed.
Having an option to NOT be subject to it is what this thread is about. I’m not sure why that is such a problem for your, or so hard to understand. Steinberg adding this option would impact you in absolutely ZERO ways, so you can relax.
Just be aware that when you install AutoHotKey, you are basically installing a keytracker. It is OSS, so it is probably OK, but I won’t go that route myself.
I finally got a straight, honest answer from Steinberg support to my question “What problem is Steinberg trying to solve with this behavior?”
The answer (and I quote): The reason for Cubase bypassing the OS’s power scheme is to prevent crashing. It keeps the hard drives running, monitors on, and Cubase higher on the CPU priority. It’s what is optimal for performance for Cubase.
In other words, disabling my workstation’s security and power profiles is not to prevent either from corrupting a tracking session as is common belief (no other DAW has that problem, unsurprisingly), but as a workaround for a bug that crashes Cubase when they are on. Some even call it a feature. 
Geezus
Enough. This last post is simply false. Topic closed.