SCR file extension

File extension scr is traditionally used for screensaver in Windows operating systems.

A screensaver is a computer program that has been originally designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on old types of CRT monitors and plasma monitors by blanking their screens or filling them with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use. Screensavers can be also used to protection of a computer against unwanted visitors and can be configured to require password before returning to desktop.

Screensaver files for Windows are typically stored in the \Windows\System32 directory and are enabled by default, meaning they will start when the computer is inactive for several minutes.

This makes .scr files potentially dangerous and in the past many viruses and other malicious programs used .scr as a gateway to user's computer. So always install screensavers from trusted sources.

How to change screensaver in Windows

To change your screensaver in Microsoft Windows follow these steps:

• On an empty area of your desktop click with your right mouse button
• On the small menu that pops up, select Properties. The Display Properties window will appear
• Select the Screen Saver tab to view the screensaver settings

From the screen saver settings page you can select a different screen saver, adjust the settings of the current screensaver and set the time required before your screensaver will activate. You also have the option of requiring a password to be entered before you can use the computer after the screensaver has been activated.