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+--- Thread: ProctorU (/Thread-ProctorU--25253)
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ProctorU - collegechick - 11-15-2016
Does anyone feel this is a security risk to your life? Anyone experienced anything sketchy using this service?
ProctorU - jsd - 11-15-2016
collegechick Wrote:Does anyone feel this is a security risk to your life? Anyone experienced anything sketchy using this service?
Do you have specific concerns? We can address them directly. There's no real threat, anything they can do on your computer you'll be able to see. They have keyboard and mouse access, but they don't have any access on the backend. They can see you and your screen. When the test is over, and you disconnect, they no longer have this access.
ProctorU - alzee - 11-15-2016
collegechick Wrote:Does anyone feel this is a security risk to your life? Anyone experienced anything sketchy using this service?
No. It works as advertised.
jsd Wrote:anything they can do on your computer you'll be able to see.
This is not exactly true. The logmein+rescue app can, and does, run scripts (.cmd files) on your computer when you first start it. You can see their names and results scroll by in the chat window, but not their contents. There are three of them that I've seen it run the last time I had a proctorU'd exam.
ProctorU - jsd - 11-15-2016
alzee Wrote:This is not exactly true. The logmein+rescue app can, and does, run scripts (.cmd files) on your computer when you first start it. You can see their names and results scroll by in the chat window, but not their contents. There are three of them that I've seen it run the last time I had a proctorU'd exam.
if I'm not mistaken, that's not something the particular proctor is doing, that's just initialization of the application, no? the proctor can't just initiate a script (without using your keyboard/mouse, which you'd see on screen), right?
ProctorU - OakLakeNC - 11-15-2016
Are you worried about safety because they take a photo of your ID?
ProctorU - rowan555 - 11-15-2016
It doesn't concern me at all.
ProctorU - longtermstudent - 11-15-2016
Having used the service four times, I have never felt it to be a security risk... Especially to my life. You will be fine.
ProctorU - High_Order1 - 11-15-2016
It concerns me.
I do mine on an old laptop that has nothing on it.
ProctorU - bjcheung77 - 11-15-2016
High_Order1 Wrote:It concerns me.
I do mine on an old laptop that has nothing on it.
This is what I do as well, but after doing their exams for so many courses...
I have not had an issue, I purposely run it on my older system in case...
After a few MS Security Essentials (Now Windows Defender) scans, no issues...
I also run Malwarebytes (Trial version with the Pro features) and nothing either...
All in all - any course provider using ProctorU should be fine, they have their "Reputation" at hand...
ProctorU - alzee - 11-15-2016
jsd Wrote:if I'm not mistaken, that's not something the particular proctor is doing, that's just initialization of the application, no? the proctor can't just initiate a script (without using your keyboard/mouse, which you'd see on screen), right?
Well yes and no. Yes to the first half, in that these are just scripts defined by proctorU to automatically run, but the second half is a no or at best maybe. The possibility certainly exists that the proctors can run scripts on demand, it depends on what features their version of logmein+rescue has and what sort of controls are in place at their end.
I'm not paranoid about it and have no reason to distrust them -- I've taken several dozen exams through ProctorU on my only laptop, which as a IT consultant is directly responsible for all of my income -- I just want people to have all the facts.
If someone is concerned about the program or scripts, they should create a new user that is not an administrator or even a "power user" and do their proctoring under that user. ProctorU won't have access to anything important that way. Others have suggested running it in VMWare but that's no longer an option I think -- one of the scripts I've seen run has vmware in the name and is, presumably, checking for that exact situation.