My school is using ProctorTrack, a surveillance monitoring program

[darkness35]

So what is ProctorTrack?

http://www.proctortr...m/how-it-works/


Long story short, it tracks students taking online exams by installing a software on PC/Macs and using audio/webcam inputs, monitoring suspicious movements and potential cheating.




https://www.change.o...-online-courses

tl;dr - In order to combat cheating, online courses require students to install ProctorTrack, which uses your audio/webcam input to monitor you while taking online exams. Not only you're being monitored, but you will also be required to pay a $32 fee for every class you take.

[darkness35]

can't you just look shit up on yr phone

Fairly certain ProctorTrack will flag you for that

what if you don't have a microphone or webcam? Can you just not take those classes?
I didn't have either for the longest time and still don't have a webcam.

You probably will have to get one.

If it's an online exam then yes install this and don't cheat. If you really want to cheat then record an hour of yourself doing a practice exam to feed to ProctorTrack and install it in a disk allocation that isolated from the rest of your OS. Or livestream your screen with someone and end your webcam driver services and microphone driver services partway through and then cheat at the end. Or the simplest: Use teamviewer or splashtop or synergy or another remote desktop connection program to let a friend remotely control your PC. If ProctorTrack checks for this then run ProctorTrack in a Virtual Machine using VMware, connect your webcam to the VM and take the exam in the VM while allowing a friend to remote control the host operating system.

ProctorTrack is a way of saying not to cheat. You shouldn't be cheating on a university/college exam and if you're scared of malware then don't install it on your administrator account or better yet, install it in an isolated disk-partition (I forget what they're actually called) or a separate operating system in VMware.

Except the bigger issue is that this is pretty much an invasion of privacy if you are installing this software. That's the biggest reason alone in addition that I will not consent (nor do I have any reason to) to this kind of surveillance. If this was a reason to deter cheating, this is definitely not one of those ways; rather than installing a version of spyware, you can just arrange an in-class exam where everyone would be monitored.

Also fun fact, none of the campus computers will allow software to be installed, so you're SOL if you try to even use a library computer.

[nick]

so what's the problem

[Phenoca]

Except the bigger issue is that this is pretty much an invasion of privacy if you are installing this software. That's the biggest reason alone in addition that I will not consent (nor do I have any reason to) to this kind of surveillance.

Then use a Virtual Machine like people recommended. Programs installed on a Virtual Machine only run when the Virtual Machine is turned on. So don't run it until you need to take the exam and then turn it off. It won't have access to anything on your computer except what you choose to connect to it (e.g. webcam). If you're still outraged then just don't take the exam and ace all of your assignments and tests.

[Bad Hamster]

Have a extra screen mounted above your webcam and act like you're looking into the webcam, while infact you're just cheating :3

[Oisterman]

Furiously ********** during all tests.

[Z0MBiE]

Furiously ********** during all tests.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Oisterman again.

Someone rep him for me, we getting Oister to 1k this weekend.

[nick]

gave my pitiful amount of +rep

[Z0MBiE]

gave my pitiful amount of +rep

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to ultraviolence_ again.

FUUUUUUUUU-

Gotta stop spreading my love so much.

[FluffyKitten]

Sounds like an US and A kinda of a thing.