Can we disable USB access with “User configuration” GPO

If I'm not mistaken, those settings are only applicable to W2KSP1, WinXP, and W2K3 computers. You need to enable the "Prohibit access to the properties of a LAN connection" setting, which should prohibit access to any properties of a LAN connection in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

On the suggestion of checking the Power Management settings by @joeqwerty I created a new Power Plan with the following settings:

• Display -> Turn off display after -> On battery (minutes): 0
• Display -> Turn off display after -> Plugged in (minutes): 0

I set this as the active power plan, and applied the GPO. After 25 minutes the machines are no longer automatically locking.

Here are the full steps for creating this:

1. In Group Policy Management Editor, edit the target GPO
2. Go to Computer Configuration\Preferences\Control Panel Settings\Power Options
3. In the right pane, right click and select New -> Power Plan (At least Windows 7)
4. In the Advanced settings tab, select the Create action
5. Enter a new plan name (e.g. "Don't lock")
6. Select Set as the active power plan
7. Expand Display -> Turn off display after
8. Change On battery (minutes) to 0
9. Change Plugged in (minutes) to 0
10. Click Apply, OK
11. Apply the GPO to the target machine(s)