Respondus lockdown browser - violation of privacy?

VPN
1

so, within the policy and terms, it states that respondus may have access to all our files, including files on our desktop. Out of pure curiosity and for those who value personal information safety, why exactly is this malware allowed, lol??

I ask because 1) i have personal information on my laptops just as other students, 2) how much information do they take because personal files ARE personal files?, and 3) we don’t really have a choice because we HAVE TO download this browser so…what can we even do?

2

I don’t have much advice, but I’m so grateful that none of my courses have required Respondus this term. The privacy violations terrify me.

That said, I have seen some people suggest requesting a university-provided laptop. I don’t know if UCLA would comply with those requests, but I think it’s totally reasonable given the ramifications of using this browser. These applications aren’t trustworthy and they’re a huge invasion of privacy.

3

From their website:

"What information do we collect?

We collect information so we can provide the best possible experience when you use our Services. Much of what you likely consider personal data is collected directly from you when you:

  1. create an account or purchase any of our Services (e.g. name, address, email, phone number, and other billing information);
  2. interact with an account manager (e.g. email, phone number, address, job title, institution);
  3. request assistance from our customer support team (e.g. email, phone number);
  4. complete contact forms, register a product, sign up for a beta program, submit feedback, sign up for a newsletter, or request other information from us (e.g. email); or,
  5. participate in contests and surveys, visit our exhibit at a tradeshow, attend a training webinar, or otherwise participate in activities we promote that might require information about you."

Interesting…

4

What is Respondus? Never heard of this thing

5

Where exactly does it state word for word what you just said: “Respondus may have access to all our files”

I would like to see this evidence please.

6

If you have a mac, go into system settings → privacy. There will be a section which lists the apps that have access to all files and folders on your mac. If respondus is in there, deselect it and see if it still works.

7

UPDATE: it froze my laptop :joy:. In my panic, I put it on my work laptop and now it’s saying it’s malware and a virus…

8

  1. This is a common and valid concern, especially for businesses and contractors who operate under NDAs.

  2. You can often find this information on the company’s website, but because many of these extensions are closed-source, this information can’t be verified.

  3. Consider the solution I outline below.

Please see if you are able to get a university-provided machine for test-taking. If you can’t, and you can’t find another solution yourself, I have one.

Beware this is a paranoia-level, extreme solution that you should only attempt if you have the patience, a spare drive sitting around or are willing to buy one, and if you are NOT using a MacBook (because if you are, this is going to be very inconvenient). This method assumes you have zero trust in this extension, to the point that you believe it is actively malicious. This method is perfectly legitimate and does not enable academic disintegrity, it is only to preserve privacy. Unfortunately I will have to over-explain this because it is a very technical process and I can’t assume everyone reading this is tech savvy. I apologize in advance, but please bear with me.

On a secondary SSD/HDD, I recommend installing the LTS release of Kubuntu (this is Ubuntu Linux packaged with the KDE desktop environment; I am recommending this specific version of Linux because it is fairly unlikely to break under casual usage, and because KDE is the prettiest out-of-the-box, and the most familiar looking to people new to Linux) and start the computer from this drive only when required to take proctored exams. Learn which key to press when starting up your computer to choose which drive to boot to. This is usually F11 or F12, but it varies by motherboard manufacturer. You will have to either press this each time to select the secondary drive, or poke around in the BIOS to manually set the boot order.

So that you do not have to constantly open up your computer to facilitate this, you will likely need to buy a SATA to USB adapter so that you can use this drive externally from one of your computer’s USB ports. The cheaper ones tend to come with an enclosure, so if yours does, then make sure that it will be able to accomodate this secondary HDD/SSD. The reason I say this method isn’t for MacBooks is because Linux can mount HFS+ (macOS’s default format) by default, so you’d have to physically remove the SSD, which requires you to open up the bottom of the computer. Assuming you have tests/exams every two weeks or so, this quickly becomes too much to bother with.

If your computer’s operating system is currently Windows, you don’t have to remove your original drive in the first place to maintain your privacy, just disable Ubuntu’s ability to read NTFS-formatted drives (the way Windows stores files). This won’t damage your Windows drive at all, it will just make it inaccessible from this specific Linux installation, which is what we want. Anyway, this can be done by uninstalling the package “ntfs-3g” which is installed by default. Open the application “Muon Package Manager”, search within the program for “ntfs-3g” and uninstall it. While you’re there, install Google Chrome. Typically, Firefox and forks of Chromium aren’t compatible with proctoring extensions. By that I mean you physically won’t find the extension in a search if you don’t use Google Chrome. That can also happen on uncommon Linux distros; it shouldn’t be a problem on Kubuntu.

Now, you’re mostly ready to go. If you would like, go through the System Settings and feel free to personalize this installation a little bit, but try not to do anything that worsens the stability of the machine. Open Google Chrome, set it up how you like but don’t sign in to a Google account in the browser. Install the proctoring extension, an ad-blocker (I recommend uBlock Origin and only that), and any other extensions you think you need. This machine is not meant to be used often, only for proctoring exams. When you’re done taking an exam, don’t lose the drive, put it somewhere you’ll remember and keep it safe for the next time that you need it.

9

I’ve been hearing about that thing on here ever since COVID started. I wouldn’t let it anywhere near any of my own devices, FWIW.

10

Is the library not lending them out? That used to be the way around it

11

It’s basically a browser that locks down your computer and allows you to be monitored while you’re taking an exam. It can be set up several ways. It can record video as you take the exam and a professor can review the video later if they feel they have reason to. It can also be set up for an outside party to observe you (although I’ve not heard of the latter method in use at UCLA).

12

It has root access to your pc it could quite literally do anything it wanted without user approval or oversight.

13

FYI it does not. If you remove the permissions it won’t run until you restore them in your settings.

14

Oh I didn’t know about that! I’m a first year so maybe I didn’t receive an email about that :frowning: I’m glad they’re willing to address student concerns though

15

So basically like Proctor then, huh. I don’t like that

16

They usually have them at powell and YRL regularly (like, at least 6 days a week). Or used to. Covid may have messed with it.