To verify what timeout the kernel uses (in seconds) for virtual console blanking via

$ cat /sys/module/kernel/parameters/consoleblank

To change that timeout (in minutes, 0 means disable blanking)

$ setterm -blank VALUE

You can give more parameters to setterm

$ setterm -blank 0 -powersave off

To permanently/automatically disable virtual console blanking on startup you can either

• add the consoleblank=0 kernel parameter to the kernel command line
• add the setterm -blank 0 command to an rc-local or equivalent startup script
• add the setterm output to /etc/issue since /etc/issue is output on every virtual console setterm -blank 0 » /etc/issue