Bug 1414898

Summary:	after disabling screen lock in gnome, Super-L shortcut still works to lock screen
Product:	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	Reporter:	jas
Component:	gnome-shell	Assignee:	Florian Müllner <fmuellner>
Status:	CLOSED ERRATA	QA Contact:	Desktop QE <desktop-qa-list>
Severity:	unspecified	Docs Contact:	Petr Bokoc <pbokoc>
Priority:	unspecified
Version:	7.3	CC:	dominicthompson795, fmuellner, jkoten, mboisver, tpelka
Target Milestone:	rc
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	Unspecified
OS:	Unspecified
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Last Closed:	2017-08-01 22:44:12 UTC	Type:	Bug
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Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
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Description jas 2017-01-19 16:59:47 UTC

Description of problem:

Disable screen lock in GNOME with this dconf entry:

[org/gnome/desktop/lockdown]
disable-lock-screen=true

However, Super-L still locks screen!

If the function is "disabled", then it should be entirely disabled.

I'm in an academic environment.  I don't want students to be able to lock screens, but I do want faculty, etc. to be able to do it.  Since GNOME doesn't allow this flexibility, I want to just find an external lock solution that I can script to check the users group, but to be able to use that, I need to be able to disable screen locking entirely through gnome!

Comment 2 Michael Boisvert 2017-06-06 20:56:11 UTC

I can successfully disable screen lock in gnome 3.22.

Comment 5 Michael Boisvert 2017-06-22 13:28:48 UTC

I have two 7.4 machines with snap4 on them. The menu is not honoring the lockdown settings on either. In fact, if I lock the screen with the menu I can then subsequently lock the screen with super + L after that. Something isn't right here.

Comment 6 Florian Müllner 2017-06-22 13:35:44 UTC

What is the output of

  $ gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-lock-screen

Comment 7 Michael Boisvert 2017-06-22 13:58:21 UTC

(In reply to Florian Müllner from comment #6)
> What is the output of
> 
>   $ gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-lock-screen

It was set to false, don't know how. If I set it to true, screenlock functionality is totally disabled. 

Problem is, if the customer is going to be using the dconf entry method, it doesn't seem reliable. 

1. Create dconf entry as per #c0
2. dconf update.
3. Super + L doesn't lock screen but menu does.
4. Lock screen with menu option, now super + L can lock screen.
5. Notice "$ gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-lock-screen" is set to false. 

What do you think? If the dconf entry method is a documented way of disabling the screenlock, it should work. Also just verified my findings on a third machine.

Comment 8 Florian Müllner 2017-06-22 14:15:04 UTC

(In reply to Michael Boisvert from comment #7)
> Problem is, if the customer is going to be using the dconf entry method, it
> doesn't seem reliable. 
> 
> 1. Create dconf entry as per #c0
> 2. dconf update.
> 3. Super + L doesn't lock screen but menu does.

No, that's not supposed to work. You need to log out first, see the info box on https://help.gnome.org/admin/system-admin-guide/stable/dconf-profiles.html.en.

Comment 9 Florian Müllner 2017-06-22 14:16:36 UTC

Mmmh, actually when the profile already exists, `dconf update` is supposed to work according to https://help.gnome.org/admin/system-admin-guide/stable/dconf-keyfiles.html.en ...

Comment 10 Michael Boisvert 2017-06-22 14:36:36 UTC

Some more info. After dconf update, when the super + L screenlock is still disabled, "$ gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-lock-screen" is set to false.

Comment 11 Michael Boisvert 2017-06-29 15:08:46 UTC

Florian and I went over this issue side by side on different VMs until we finally found the issue. I was trying to create a dconf entry on a different path which obviously wasn't working correctly. Once I created the dconf entry on the correct path, the screenlock was disabled via menu and Super+L.

Comment 14 errata-xmlrpc 2017-08-01 22:44:12 UTC

Since the problem described in this bug report should be
resolved in a recent advisory, it has been closed with a
resolution of ERRATA.

For information on the advisory, and where to find the updated
files, follow the link below.

If the solution does not work for you, open a new bug report.

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2017:2098

Comment 15 Jay Kirk 2023-07-25 21:01:05 UTC Comment hidden (spam)

This solution does not seem to be useful for all situations. Of course, it is important to ensure the security and confidentiality of the information that is stored on computers, but some students try to access other people's computers when they are locked, using various tricks and hacks. To prevent this, educators and other staff want to be able to lock their screens as they see fit rather than the default. However, GNOME does not allow this flexibility and requires a screen lock via Gnome for all users. I think this can be solved by creating an external screen lock program to check the user's group and give him the appropriate rights and settings. However, this needs to be able to completely disable the screen lock via gnome so that there are no conflicts. Unfortunately, GNOME does not allow you to do this easily and safely, so this solution requires additional effort and knowledge. One can compare this situation with the story https://writingbros.com/essay-examples/portrayal-of-disability-and-summary-of-forrest-gump/, which went through many trials. However, despite his disability, he did not give up and continued to solve problems, as shown in this essay sample. It can be said that GNOME is a handicap for users who want more flexibility and choice regarding screen locks. They must put in extra effort and creativity to find a solution to their needs.