Screen saver

A program that prevents an image from being permanently etched into a computer monitor display. After a time interval without keyboard or mouse input, the screen saver blanks the screen or displays moving objects. Pressing a key or moving the mouse restores the screen.

It would actually take many hours to burn in an image on todayÆs color monitors. Today, screen savers are often used in conjunction with passwords to secure the display and the workstation while authorized users are not present.