powercfg: control Windows sleep from the command line
Windows has a built-in command for sleep and screen timeouts, and for finding out what's keeping your PC awake. The handful of powercfg commands worth knowing.
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Field notes on idle timers and staying online
Short, practical write-ups on Windows power settings, presence status and keeping long jobs alive.
Why your Windows PC locks when you walk away: Dynamic Lock and presence sensing
Some Windows PCs lock the moment you step away, even with the mouse moving. That's Dynamic Lock or presence sensing, and no software jiggler can override it. Here's how each works.
Using Windows Mouse Mover in Microsoft Edge (and taming sleeping tabs)
Edge runs Chrome Web Store extensions, so Windows Mouse Mover works there too. Here's how to install it, and how to stop Edge's sleeping tabs from pausing the sites you need.
Invite a friend to Windows Mouse Mover and you both get a free month
Your invite link gives a friend their first month free. When they become a paying customer, you get a month free as well.
Three ways to keep a Windows PC from going to sleep
Power settings, a system-level keep-awake tool, or a browser extension: what each one covers, what it misses, and how to choose.
Why Microsoft Teams marks you Away on Windows
Teams reads presence from a few simple signals. Knowing what they are makes the status dot a lot less mysterious.
Why Remote Desktop drops idle sessions, and what's in your control
Idle disconnects usually come from a server policy, not your PC. Here's how to tell the difference before you start troubleshooting.
Keeping long uploads, exports and web-based jobs running
A job that dies at 90% because a tab went idle is an avoidable loss. A short checklist for browser-based work that takes a while.
How to stop the screen timing out in the middle of a presentation
Dimming and sleep during a talk are embarrassing and easy to prevent. Settings to check before you walk on stage.
Windows lock screen timeouts: what you can change and what IT controls
Some lock settings are yours. Others are enforced by your organization. How to tell them apart without wasting an afternoon.
What simulated page activity actually does (and what it doesn't)
A browser extension can't move your real cursor. Here's what it does instead, why web apps accept it, and where its reach ends.
Away Brief in Chrome: catching up after a break
How the recap gathers notifications from your open web apps while you're gone, what it shows when you return, and where the data stays.
Reading your Insights card: what each number means
Total hours, away time, sessions and streak explained, plus how to tell whether the extension is earning its keep for you.
Using a mouse mover responsibly at work
Good reasons to keep a session alive, the line you shouldn't cross, and why a quick conversation beats a workaround.
Keeping a laptop awake without draining the battery
Staying active on a laptop is easy. Doing it without a dead battery or a hot bag is the trick. What actually uses power and what doesn't.
Keeping a Chromebook session active: what the browser can and can't do
A Chrome extension can hold a session open, but it works inside the browser. Where that's enough, and where you need something else.