The Epibrator

What is it?

The Epibrator simulates key strokes and mouse moves to:

• keep your screen active when you are away (during automated tasks or testing runs)
• prevent the screen saver or hibernation while uploading 5GB of pics at night
• prevent the screensaver to kick in when you don't have admin privileges to change the screen saver or power settings
• keep your corporate messenger application from showing you as 'Away' or 'Offline' after a period of idle time
• etc

Definition of 'To Epibrate'

To epibrate comes from the Dutch verb 'Epibreren'. It was invented, or made up, in 1954. And it means (translated literally from Dutch):

• Perform a seemingly very important task, while actually doing nothing at all
• In Dutch(Nederlands): Het verrichten van niet nader gespecificeerd werk dat heel voornaam lijkt, maar desondanks helemaal niets voorstelt.

Sources:

• To Epibrate on Wikipedia (Google Translated)
• Epibreren on Wikipedia (in Dutch or 'Nederlands')

Download & Installation

Download

The Epibrator is an executable file that can be downloaded here: Epibrator-v2.11.exe.The file is about 932KB in size.

Installation

The executable file is the complete program (no, it's not an installer nor a zip), there is no need to install anything. Just download and run the EXE file.

There is no need for (local) Administrator Rights on your machine for this application to run.

Documentation

The Epibrator graphical user interface is divided in sections

• Epibrator Tab
  • Configuration
    • cycle each - restart a cycle using this interval (minutes)
    • send key strokes - types the current time in the 'epibration target' box
    • move mouse pointer - moves the mouse around
    • check connectivity - perform a network check each cycle
    • knight rider mode - turns your Num-lock, Caps-lock and Scroll-lock keys into KITT
    • Stop @ - Set the time when the epibration must stop, in a 24h format [hh:mm]
  • Status
    • Status - The status of The Epibrator
    • Network - The status of the last 'network connectivity' test
    • Cycles - The Number of cycles during this Epibrator run
  • Times
    • Current - Current time
    • Running since - Last start time of an Epibration session
    • Run time - Total time for the last epibration session in seconds
  • Epibration Target
    • I type stuff so you don't go AFK - The target where The Epibrator sends keystrokes to
  • The epibration log
  • Progress
    • Progress until next cycle start
  • Start / Stop Button - Use the HotKey to start or stop the epibrator (also when minimized to tray)
• Settings Tab
  • Settings
    • Ping Url - The URL to Ping for the network connectivity test
    • Hotkey - Set the Hotkey to start and stop The Epibrator
    • Mouse speed - The mouse move speed - 0 = instant, 1 = fastest, 100 = slowest, 10 = default)
    • Knight Rider cycles - The number of Knight Rider cycles to execute
    • Save Settings - Settings are not saved nor used if this button was not pressed!
  • Clear all traces
    • Remove Epibrator settings from my machine - Removes all settings from the Windows Registry
• About / Help Tab

FAQ

1. Can I get The Epibrator for Mac or any other ...inferiorsuperior operating system?
   • No
   • Solution: Use Windows... ò_Ó
2. Why does the network connection test always fail while I am connected to the internet?
   • Some corporate firewalls block Ping requests. That is why.
   • Solution: configure an adress inside your corporate firewall, like your corporate intranet page or your mail server.
3. How to remove all traces from The Epibrator on my machine?
   • The Epibrator stores its settings in the Windows Registry if possible. No other information is stored on your machine.
   • Solution: follow these steps to remove The Epibrator from your machine.
     1. Open The Epibrator, click the button "Remove Epibrator settings from my machine" in the Settings tab
        (This will remove the Registry keys from the Registry, if you want to do this manually, delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cagy.org\TheEpibrator" using "regedit.exe")
     2. Delete the executable file from the file system (also check your downloads folder)
     3. Clear your browser history
     4. Empty your recycle bin
     5. Go back to work!
   Note: When you open The Epibrator, it will try to write the default settings to the Registry again!
4. Where can I send money to thank the author of this great piece of software?
   • Solution: Use PayPal!.

     Send me lots of money via Paypal! Please respect the minimum limit of EUR 500,00 or 1 Bitcoin

     

Thank you for testing, reporting bugs, suggestions, etc: Patrick van Beek - @vanBeekP, Hendrik Baudrez - @_hendrikb, Ilja C, David S, Steven S, Trevor B, Sammy XyZeR J, Leo VDP, and all others

That is all!