Before Dawn is a cross platform program that has many cool screensavers

Ashwin
Feb 11, 2021
Updated • Feb 23, 2021
Windows, Windows software
|
7

Screensavers are fun, they look cool and make you feel relaxed. While they don't serve their original purpose anymore, the prevention of burn-ins in displays, they may still add visual elements to the display when the device is not used actively.

Windows 10 comes with a bunch of pretty screensavers, of which my favorite is Bubbles. If you want more designs, check out Before Dawn.

Before Dawn is an open source program that has many cool screensavers
It is an open source program that has nearly three dozen patterns to choose from. You have no control over where the application gets installed, but that's not a huge deal.

Run it, and it will appear on the system tray. Right-click on it and select Preferences to access the Before Dawn's interface.

Before Dawn tray menu

The top right half of the window lists all screensavers that are available for selection. This includes a C64 pattern, a Blur screen mode, a webcam mode, and more. There are a couple of wacky ones, like the poop emoji, the lonely computer and the tall boy. And there's the DVD logo which bounces around the screen, I'm sure we have all spent time watching it and wondering if it will hit the corner.

Before Dawn gradient

It also has some serene options like Rain, Sparks, and Gradients. Before Dawn features a couple of photo screensaver options such as Astronomy photos, Hubble for which it pulls the data from NASA and the Hubble Telescope respectively.

Before Dawn photo screensavers

Select something classic like the Starfield, or use a more modern one with the Emoji Starfield which is kind of cool. Though the program allows you to run a custom URL when the screensaver is triggered, this option didn't work for me.

Before Dawn emoji starfield

The problem with having too many options is that you may not be able to decide which one to choose. Hit the random option, and the program will pick one for you. The left half of Before Dawn's interface displays a preview of the selected screensaver, and some of these have an additional option like changing the intensity, or in the case of the Cave Story screensaver, you can select a Balrog or Dragon flying across the screen.

Before Dawn emoji starfield screensaver

Speaking of previews, head to the official demo page to see a preview of each screensaver in Before Dawn. There's something you need to know about the program, it doesn't replace Windows' screensaver, instead it runs separately in its own window, and is set to use full screen mode. Move the mouse or use the keyboard to dismiss the screensaver, and the window closes automatically.

Before Dawn quasicrystals

You may set when the screensaver should be activated under the Settings section. The default value is 5 minutes, but you can set it to 1/10/15/30 minutes or an hour. The "never" option when enabled will prevent the screensaver from kicking in automatically, in which case you can use the program's tray icon (Run Now) to activate it manually. Before Dawn will put the computer to sleep after 10 minutes, but you can change this option as well.

Head to the Advanced Settings for more options to lock the computer, disable the program when your laptop is running on battery, etc. The application does not have a hotkey enabled, though you can add one of your own to run the screensaver. Before Dawn allows you to create your own wallpapers, the downside is that you'll need some coding experience, particularly in HTML, CSS or JavaScript.

Before Dawn is an open source program, it is written in Electron. It is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. The program isn't very responsive when it comes to switching screensavers, which maybe due to the preview rendering the graphics, nevertheless is a tad annoying.

Summary
software image
Author Rating
1star1star1star1stargray
5 based on 1 votes
Software Name
Before Dawn
Operating System
Windows, Linux, Mac
Software Category
Multimedia
Price
Free
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Comments

  1. Anonymous said on March 9, 2023 at 1:52 pm
    Reply

    Does it come back after every “moment” update?

  2. Baloney said on March 9, 2023 at 2:23 pm
    Reply

    Yeah right.. Like this is going to stop defender from running =) This is comedy gold right here.

  3. Anonymous said on March 9, 2023 at 3:25 pm
    Reply

    no ‘about the author’ paragraph?

  4. Gregory said on March 9, 2023 at 4:19 pm
    Reply

    For permanent disable defender is if removed complete from system no just change permission folder.

    Just this is joke.

  5. moi said on March 9, 2023 at 5:57 pm
    Reply

    simpler, load Autoruns (SysInternals)
    – filter “Defender”
    – untag all entries
    – reboot
    nothing has changed since my 1st modification years ago

  6. John G. said on March 9, 2023 at 6:32 pm
    Reply

    I wouldn’t disable Defender imho, it has too many hidden roots inside Windows itself. One time I tried to uninstall it using brute force scripts and then the Onedrive feature stopped working definitely. A reinstallation was needed and since those times I prefer to maintain Defender untouched. It’s a better method to install another antivirus and it will disable Defender in a safer and easier mode (e.g., Avast is the best in this way, and also Panda Cloud Free is good too).

    1. Tweakmaster said on September 29, 2023 at 9:57 am
      Reply

      U are just * [Editor: removed] thats the problem ;p first of all u shall always debloat windows u shall have max 65 services with your drivers for pc and windows own servs. You didnt know what that script did

  7. boris said on March 10, 2023 at 12:19 am
    Reply

    You can not stop defender from running in background or remove it without some penalty. All you can do is to limit telemetry.

    1. TelV said on March 10, 2023 at 4:52 pm
      Reply

      @borts,

      It’s probably Smartscreen which is preventing WD from being disabled. Get rid of that and the problem should be solved: https://thegeekpage.com/disable-windows-defender-smartscreen/#How_to_disable_the_Windows_Defender_SmartScreen_via_Local_Group_Policy_Editor

  8. hoho said on March 10, 2023 at 1:47 pm
    Reply

    Remove Windows and go for Linux.

    1. basingstoke said on March 10, 2023 at 2:51 pm
      Reply

      Linux sucks dude. Besides it’s not comparable to Windows, these OSes are in different classes entirely.

      1. Derp said on March 10, 2023 at 4:36 pm
        Reply

        I use Linux as my daily driver. It’s far more stable than Windows. When’s the last time you used Linux, 2010?

      2. Bromosexual said on March 11, 2023 at 2:04 am
        Reply

        @basingstoke

        You’re right, dude. Bro, linux is just a bunch of code that starts before the OS, dude. Brobrodude, that shit ain’t even got emojis, dudebrodudeman! Dudebro, it’s no way near as cool as Windows with its hardcoded abilities to make money off the user, bro. Yo brodude man, you’re the coolest dude ever man, bro. Dude.

      3. basingstoke said on August 16, 2023 at 7:20 pm
        Reply

        Lol what? Windows 7 doesn’t come with any Emojis

  9. TelV said on March 10, 2023 at 4:46 pm
    Reply

    Download Autoruns and remove the checkmark from Windows Defender. It doesn’t remove it, but it will never run. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

  10. Simon said on March 10, 2023 at 8:37 pm
    Reply

    Just use “Defender Control”:
    https://www.sordum.org/9480/defender-control-v2-1/comment-page-1/#comments

    Per this video,
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLIjr7FyxZ8
    it also works on Windows 11 too…

  11. Someone said on March 10, 2023 at 9:26 pm
    Reply

    Win Defender, is completly the most succesful free-built in antivirus of Microsoft. Really nice product. Saved my ass a lot of times. Has updated malware database, completly strong defence
    from whatever smart screen disables. Or if you want better and more upgrated (paid) program,
    you can go further. But defender is always on your side.

  12. CalixtoWVR1 said on March 10, 2023 at 10:03 pm
    Reply

    Why would one disable Windows (or Microsoft) Defender in the first place?. I consider this to be playing with fire big time. Everybody knows that if one is using another A-V, Defender will be disabled on its own and won’t be in one’s way.

  13. Ed D said on March 10, 2023 at 11:09 pm
    Reply

    Why would I want to disable Windows Defender in the first place? It’s a great anti virus in my opinion. Been using it since Windows 8 and and never had a problem or a virus. Why mess with a good thing, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

  14. owl said on August 17, 2023 at 1:57 am
    Reply

    How a ridiculous article!
    I am thoroughly stunned.

    Why Should You Disable First-Party Windows Defender?
    I can only think that it is “malice or perversely intention (want you to buy a third-party AV where you can expect a back margin)” to guide invalidation without showing the premise.
    No sane company will use third-party closed source programs (such as AV).

    As I thought, “Ghacks Technology News” seems to be coming to downfall.

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