Just an FYI about ProctorU

[acamp]

Any updates on this situation? I'm curious what SL is going to say

[Cheeseburrito]

I'm a software engineer and can confirm this guy was/is attempting to gain access to your machine.

Take some precautions including changing passwords.

[jsh1138]

their reply:

Thank you for the clarification! At this time our investigation team has completed review of the session and we were able to verify that several programs were unnecessarily closed. The only extra application which should have been closed was Lightshot as due to the nature of the program, it is not permitted to be running during exams. We apologize for any inconvenience that may cause,

The system's anti-virus, Thermal Controller, and Alienware AlienFX applications should not have been closed, and Vivaldi updates should not have been disabled, as none of the options would be a threat to exam security. It is certainly understandable that these changes would feel invasive, and we can confirm that these actions are not standards of operation. The proper management group has been notified to provide additional followup action and coaching for the involved proctor to ensure protocol is accurately followed. Additionally, to avoid similar situations occurring again, we have added internal notations to your ProctorU account so that proctors are aware not to close the applications needed to keep your computer running smoothly, and not to disable the browser updates.

We did notice that when Vivaldi updates were closed, a window popped on screen stating that the notifications/scheduled updates could be re-enabled in the browser settings. Were you able to turn the notifications back on? Based on your system setup, it appears you would not need assistance with this, though we would like to extend the offer to help re-enable any changed settings if needed.

Once again we offer our sincerest apologies for the events during the recent exam session. Please do let us know if there is anything additional we can assist with to further improve your experience using ProctorU!

[dfrecore]

Well, I'm glad they responded, but I don't think this is enough. I would let them know that you're going to be talking to the individual course providers to let them know this happened, and see what kind of response you get. They should be going a lot further than this in their response.

[jsh1138]

just curious, what do you think they should say? what does "going further" look like

[dfrecore]

just curious, what do you think they should say? what does "going further" look like

"The proper management group has been notified to provide additional followup action and coaching for the involved proctor to ensure protocol is accurately followed."

Seems soft.  The proctor should have been immediately fired.  He's hacking people's computers, which is beyond their soft, soft answer of needing "coaching".  Sounds like they were just not taking it as seriously as they should have.  If that proctor is still there, then I fear ever using them again.

[jsh1138]

"The proctor should have been immediately fired. "

right, but how would I know if they fired the guy or not. or, if they fired the guy, that 100 more weren't doing the same thing? these guys basically work at a call center, its not like they're professionals

" If that proctor is still there, then I fear ever using them again."

i don't like proctor u and would never use them again if i could get away with it. that's how i felt before this too. i guess i'll have to see where my colleges let me take what but i do not for 1 minute think that this was the only guy working there who ever did this, or that it would stop if they fired him as an example to everyone else. half these proctors probably have side jobs installing spyware onto your computer while you take the test

[High_Order1]

I have been uncomfortable with PU since I began my journey, and have chronicled most of it here over time.

That they disabled your antivirus doesn't surprise me at all.

I am willing to bet, however, they were following a flipchart that said, 'open this panel, and kill every task you see'. I could make a case for the antivirus maybe not liking something to do with how they manipulate your system remotely, if your system is locked down hard enough. The question I see, is why kill a program relating to running your box cooler? And especially then, leave lightshot running?

I'd also like to know exactly what records of the event they can access past the ascii text logs, and how long they retain it.

Very curious, indeed