Photo of Terence Eden. He has a beard and is smiling.

ProctorU is dystopian spyware

· 23 comments · 350 words · read ~11,165 times.

As part of my MSc, I have to take an online exam. Obviously, this means I am highly likely to cheat by looking up things on Wikipedia or by having a bit of paper with notes on it. EVIL!

So, the exam body requires me to install ProctorU. It's a service which lets someone watch you through your laptop camera while you do the exam. Creepy, but I get it. They also want to see your screen to make sure you're not alt-tabbing. A bit grim, but I get it. They also want complete control over your laptop, including the ability to silently transfer files and run arbitrary programs. LOL WAT?!?

Here's the "helpful" video showing what's involved. It is a 6 minute long privacy invasion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gdh46rBvbU

But, OK, there's no way my employer (the Government) is going to let me install this malware on their machine. No worries, I'll use one of my Linux laptops. After all, I am doing an exam all about Linux security! Let's check their system requirements.

Unsupported Devices At this time we do not support the following; however, we are working on solutions to accommodate every platform. Chromebooks are not supported unless you are utilizing a proctoring service without a Live Proctored launch Mobile Devices Tablets/iPads Linux/Unix operating systems Microsoft Surface RT Virtual Machines: If you are running within a virtual machine when you connect with us, you will be asked to exit your virtual machine and reconnect using your host operating system to take your test.

Soooo… No Linux, no Chromebook, no Android tablet. I can't even spin up a Windows VM?

The thing is, the training provider - which sells these courses to businesses - know that most business laptops won't allow ProctorU's spyware on them. It's just too risky. Their solution?

Unfortunately Chromebooks are not supported by ProctorU and work based laptops are not recommended due to additional security restrictions that'll block remote connection and screen sharing. You'll need to use a personally owned Mac or Windows laptop." section "Unfortunately Chromebooks are not supported by ProctorU and work based laptops are not recommended due to additional security restrictions that'll block remote connection and screen sharing. You'll need to use a personally owned Mac or Windows laptop.

And if you don't have a personal Mac or Windows machine?

To take this exam online you will need to borrow a friend or family member's laptop.

Any of you want to lend me a laptop so I can install invasive spyware on it? No? Didn't think so!

I asked the course provider what options they had for me - and I'm waiting to hear back. It looks like I can go to one of their regulated test centres and take the exam there.

Hmmm - spyware on my computer, or catch COVID from a shared PC? Choices… Choices…

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23 thoughts on “ProctorU is dystopian spyware”

  3. said on twitter.com:

    Personally I have issues with proctored exams anyway* but beyond the creepiness of the whole thing, this appears to be especially awful software... a quick read too... ( in 2021, testing memory, rather than the ability to manipulate information, is underwhelming )
    Reply | Reply to original comment on twitter.com

  8. netsharc says:

    This is almost off-topic, but surface contamination of COVID is (apparently) very unlikely, but somehow this news hasn't been spread around (sorry for the pun) and people are still mindlessly pouring bleach everywhere: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4 Going to the exam center and spending a lot of time in one room breathing the same air as others is a higher risk factor.
    Reply

  9. Friend Computer says:

    Your request for special treatment has been classified as treason. Please report to the nearest suicide booth with clearance orange or lower for further processing. Using yellow suicide booths or higher will result in increased clone mortality.
    Reply

    1. Stephen P. Schaefer says:

      My employer has installed software/firmware to disable all external storage, to defend against information exfiltration. I doubt they'd cooperate with this vendor.
      Reply

  16. said on twitter.com:

    The irony here is it's all theater really. Super easy to stick a capture device on the video and dump the exam with a bit of OCR... Not like they've mandated HDCP or banned VGA. And that's why my company insist on in-person exams at the risk of COVID. Not sure which is better...
    Reply | Reply to original comment on twitter.com

  19. said on twitter.com:

    So I work in #edtech. I can say without a doubt it is also much worse than just this. The software often doesn't work. If it is macos/Win it is just tested on Win on top end machines. It is made as cheaply as possible. It is as inaccessible as you imagine. It probably breaks privacy law and accessibility legislation And I have seen demonstrations of them and they have never worked.
    Reply | Reply to original comment on twitter.com

  22. A says:

    I have to use ProctorU for my situation and hate it! Feels creepy don't like holding my ID with my address to some stranger on the internet. Also not a fan of having access to my entire computer. My proctor today was unresponsive for multiple minutes and I was like what is he doing so I sent "?" in the chat bot and his only response was "just give me a moment" like what are you doing on my computer; and why are you not explaining what you're doing. I hate the fact that I need to buy another expensive computer as a burner just for overpriced college. I don't know how this toxic system isn't shut down yet
    Reply

What links here from around this blog?

  1. Vertical questions, but horizontal buttons. APMG Linux Proctoring - Certified In The Art of Hacking Exam

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