4 ms·

The most malware-y test-related piece of software I've had to install on my computer is Lockdown Browser, which requires to be run as root on macOS or Windows(!

The most malware-y test-related piece of software I've had to install on my computer is Lockdown Browser, which requires to be run as root on macOS or Windows(!) (no Linux obviously), detects if its running in a VM, has a blacklist of processes that it forcibly kills and disables use of external displays and keyboards. I've heard that there's also a camera/microphone option but my professor didn't enable it. And it's a difficult situation to be in because on the one hand you feel a moral imperative to say something but on the other you just want to pass the class. I have no idea how effective it was when students could just use their phone to look things up. It doesn't have to be this way. I especially like UC Berkeley's guidelines for remote exams[0], some of which have been followed by other professors. e.g. if you limit submission time it's going to be near impossible to learn how to convert a state machine into a synchronous logical circuit and perform it within 15 minutes (plus other questions). [0] https://teaching.berkeley.edu/best-practices-remote-examinations https://teaching.berkeley.edu/best-practices-remote-examinat...

ad404b8a372f2b9 6y ago
> how to convert a state machine into a synchronous logical circuit and perform it within 15 minutes You speak in riddles. We implemented similar recommendations at the start of Covid when our university got closed and they slow down the cheating process but it's not enough to stop students fully when they're coordinating over facebook. I'm hoping more strategies come out of the lockdown.
jackson1442 6y ago
Oh yes, the webcam feature definitely exists and sucks. A lot. I have to use LockDown + Webcam for my physics exams, which are very heavy on solving equations on your own paper. It works mostly fine until it notices that I'm looking at the paper, then slaps a blue splash page over my screen saying "hey we can't see your face you filthy cheater, show us your face." Happened at least 10 times on one exam. With webcam exams I feel almost obligated to find a private space to take it outside of my room because you're not 'supposed' to have anything in the background of your video and that would be an unfair imposition on my roommate since he has to deal with the same crap. Fortunately my residence hall has study rooms I can use. Everyone hates LockDown. When I just had one laptop (a MacBook), there was a 50% chance it would lock up the entire laptop after launching the software, requiring a hard reset. I currently run it in a separate user account on a separate (Windows) machine. I have an iPad, and I'm honestly 100% ok running it on there but turns out some professors disable the iPad app for no reason and sometimes it just doesn't work. I definitely appreciate the exam guidelines you posted and agree with them. Funny enough, that physics class I mentioned also does the "set time exams" where everyone starts at 4pm. You're entirely SOL if you can't procure a working laptop that will comply with LockDown if yours isn't working. Fortunately not all instructors use LockDown here, some ask you to join a Zoom call while you're taking the exam (which I think is mostly fair) and some just post the exam as a regular Canvas quiz with varying security settings. Personally, I think the only form of "cheating" that should be actively seeked out is that students work alone and are submitting their own exam (that is, I should not be paying someone else to take my exam). There are few situations in which you do not have access to the internet and exams should honestly be written in such a way that internet access shouldn't completely break them.
slang800 6y ago
I haven't gotten anywhere making the moral argument to teachers or administration at my university. However, making the technical argument that Lockdown doesn't run on my system because I have Linux on my laptop worked. Occasionally teachers will ask to video chat with me during the exam, but I think that's acceptable.
908B64B197 6y ago
> The most malware-y test-related piece of software I've had to install on my computer is Lockdown Browser, which requires to be run as root on macOS or Windows(!) (no Linux obviously), detects if its running in a VM, has a blacklist of processes that it forcibly kills and disables use of external displays and keyboards. I've heard that there's also a camera/microphone option but my professor didn't enable it. That's one of the reasons I'm not opposed to app stores and "closed garden" ecosystems. Want to run as root? Denied. Want to install your special snowflake driver? Nope. Kill processes? Never. Get a list of other running processes not started by your app? Absolutely not. Don't want to comply? Roll your own devices.
- sidpatil 6y ago
  That only works as long as the platform maintainers are benevolent and autonomous. Otherwise you end up with things like the Clipper chip or Intel ME.
dmitrygr 6y ago
There are flags you can give to vmware workstation that hide it from most "detect if i am in a vm" methods. You should try them.
hertzrat 6y ago
Well, hopefully the big scandalous hack happens early on and stops this practice before the harm it will cause is too widespread. Future headline: “Millions of student computers fall victim to massive ransomware attack after testing software bug exploited. Vendor suing students who first notified journalists about it”
ro_bit 6y ago
Most of Berkeley's own classes don't follow the official guidelines or best practices. I just took a high-stakes test today that was curved, closed note/book/everything, and required live proctoring over zoom with hands in view at all times. And that isn't cherry picking, because all of my classes this semester with assessments have similarly invasive policies. I am thankful, however, that the pushback on proctoring software has been strong enough that the university doesn't use it. Most faculty (4/5 of mine. I dropped the 5th person's class) will also accept students with technical incapabilities or objections to being recorded live, probably because they understand that if a student escalates privacy concerns, the department will side with them thanks to the university's "official" stance on proctoring.

ad404b8a372f2b9 6y ago

> how to convert a state machine into a synchronous logical circuit and perform it within 15 minutes You speak in riddles. We implemented similar recommendations at the start of Covid when our university got closed and they slow down the cheating process but it's not enough to stop students fully when they're coordinating over facebook. I'm hoping more strategies come out of the lockdown.

jackson1442 6y ago

Oh yes, the webcam feature definitely exists and sucks. A lot. I have to use LockDown + Webcam for my physics exams, which are very heavy on solving equations on your own paper. It works mostly fine until it notices that I'm looking at the paper, then slaps a blue splash page over my screen saying "hey we can't see your face you filthy cheater, show us your face." Happened at least 10 times on one exam. With webcam exams I feel almost obligated to find a private space to take it outside of my room because you're not 'supposed' to have anything in the background of your video and that would be an unfair imposition on my roommate since he has to deal with the same crap. Fortunately my residence hall has study rooms I can use. Everyone hates LockDown. When I just had one laptop (a MacBook), there was a 50% chance it would lock up the entire laptop after launching the software, requiring a hard reset. I currently run it in a separate user account on a separate (Windows) machine. I have an iPad, and I'm honestly 100% ok running it on there but turns out some professors disable the iPad app for no reason and sometimes it just doesn't work. I definitely appreciate the exam guidelines you posted and agree with them. Funny enough, that physics class I mentioned also does the "set time exams" where everyone starts at 4pm. You're entirely SOL if you can't procure a working laptop that will comply with LockDown if yours isn't working. Fortunately not all instructors use LockDown here, some ask you to join a Zoom call while you're taking the exam (which I think is mostly fair) and some just post the exam as a regular Canvas quiz with varying security settings. Personally, I think the only form of "cheating" that should be actively seeked out is that students work alone and are submitting their own exam (that is, I should not be paying someone else to take my exam). There are few situations in which you do not have access to the internet and exams should honestly be written in such a way that internet access shouldn't completely break them.

slang800 6y ago

I haven't gotten anywhere making the moral argument to teachers or administration at my university. However, making the technical argument that Lockdown doesn't run on my system because I have Linux on my laptop worked. Occasionally teachers will ask to video chat with me during the exam, but I think that's acceptable.

908B64B197 6y ago

> The most malware-y test-related piece of software I've had to install on my computer is Lockdown Browser, which requires to be run as root on macOS or Windows(!) (no Linux obviously), detects if its running in a VM, has a blacklist of processes that it forcibly kills and disables use of external displays and keyboards. I've heard that there's also a camera/microphone option but my professor didn't enable it. That's one of the reasons I'm not opposed to app stores and "closed garden" ecosystems. Want to run as root? Denied. Want to install your special snowflake driver? Nope. Kill processes? Never. Get a list of other running processes not started by your app? Absolutely not. Don't want to comply? Roll your own devices.

sidpatil 6y ago
That only works as long as the platform maintainers are benevolent and autonomous. Otherwise you end up with things like the Clipper chip or Intel ME.

dmitrygr 6y ago

There are flags you can give to vmware workstation that hide it from most "detect if i am in a vm" methods. You should try them.

hertzrat 6y ago

Well, hopefully the big scandalous hack happens early on and stops this practice before the harm it will cause is too widespread. Future headline: “Millions of student computers fall victim to massive ransomware attack after testing software bug exploited. Vendor suing students who first notified journalists about it”

ro_bit 6y ago

Most of Berkeley's own classes don't follow the official guidelines or best practices. I just took a high-stakes test today that was curved, closed note/book/everything, and required live proctoring over zoom with hands in view at all times. And that isn't cherry picking, because all of my classes this semester with assessments have similarly invasive policies. I am thankful, however, that the pushback on proctoring software has been strong enough that the university doesn't use it. Most faculty (4/5 of mine. I dropped the 5th person's class) will also accept students with technical incapabilities or objections to being recorded live, probably because they understand that if a student escalates privacy concerns, the department will side with them thanks to the university's "official" stance on proctoring.