Earn an F with Ubuntu!

[kr00lplatinum]

Major Universities such as the University of Minnesota and other MN schools now require students to have a Windows OS. The reason they are requiring this is because more and more classes have online exams. This is especially true when you take an Online course.

For the three years that I've been a MN student I haven't had a problem using Ubuntu until recently. The problems comes when I try to take an online test. My school now requires me to take the test with a new web browser called: "LockDown Browser" by Respondus.

Here is the link to the application:

http://www.respondus.com/products/lockdown.shtml


The LockDown Browser supports Windows and Mac but not Linux! When launched the browser automatically shuts down unnecessary applications that may be running. For instance, Pidgin, FireFox, Word, etc. It does this in order to stop people from cheating.

So, if you only have Ubuntu on your system you're screwed because without the LockDown Browser you can't take your exam. Which means you'll earn an F! for trying to support open source!

This is really troubling because I would love to use Ubuntu exclusively but am unable to do so until I'm done with school.

I've tried to get Wine to run the browser but it doesn't work.

Just thought I would warn all those students out their that love Ubuntu. You'll have to dual boot. :mad:

[edm1]

I'm not saying cheat but you could always run windows in a virtual environment and continue to use pidgin/word/whatever in ubuntu.

[robertchahine]

I'm not saying cheat but you could always run windows in a virtual environment and continue to use pidgin/word/whatever in ubuntu.

yep , you're totally right.
virtual box run like a charm.You can install windows xp and your special browser, and use it only when you have online exams

[tamoneya]

a lot of these special browser programs can detect when they are running within a virtual environment and will not install since they know that they cannot shutdown any programs outside the virtual environment.

Your best bet is to dual boot ubuntu and linux.

[Picatta]

When you run the custom browser, do you still have to go to a webpage to take the test? If so, you could try setting the user agent in firefox to the same as the lockdown browser, and then go to the test page yourself.

[tempest]

All one has to do is have a second computer next to them with which to cheat. Not that I condone cheating, but It just sort of makes the lock down browser technology seem silly.

[elmer_42]

I don't think he wanted to cheat, I just think he was upset with his school. But the virtualization idea is a good one. Better yet, try to run it in WINE! :P
EDIT: You already tried WINE. Sorry. Man, I am having a bad day with this whole topic reading thing.

[stinger30au]

All one has to do is have a second computer next to them with which to cheat. Not that I condone cheating, but It just sort of makes the lock down browser technology seem silly.


i was thinking the same thing

[h4mx0r]

Wow as if most people don't have more than one computer to cheat on lol. I find that highly prejudice against low income people and their computer accessibility. Yes I think this program will probably work virtualized based on that assumption. Most colleges have a special place to go for testing though if you really wanted to show that you aren't cheating on things.

Is it like everyday assignments you go through this for? I never understood teachers who graded you on how many times you want to wipeout/crash before you understand something the more the BETTER! That's just standard safety in learning fail fail and fail some more until you've made all 3000 some ways how not to make a light bulb.

If your failing to send in stuff just say well heck I don't know what that program you gave me is doing its just not sending it in. Perhaps if I had the source or knew what it was doing it would be better oh.. but you don't like open source systems nvm then don't try holding me responsible. I once made the excuse using anything that wasn't formed with peer review is against my religion as an atheist but whatever you want to say.

In short might want to explain these problems to your teacher try to use some reverse psychology of how its not hard enough against cheating rather than lamenting on difficulties you have been having. I mean I'm glad ubuntu doesn't run really gay apps like that... And I mean your kinda smart person maybe they'll see it your way if not maybe just ditch the class and try to test out of it, they don't really seem to know what they're doing but like have some patience. I gave up on most college because either test out of the class, didn't have what I wanted to take, or seriously wasn't what I signed up for.

[dasunst3r]

Fortunately, all my tests I take have partial credit (which means it's still on paper and pencil ;)). If this were to happen at my school, you bet that some folks (including myself) would be busting out pitchforks and torches. In any case, I think your best workaround would be to just make a virtual machine with that software on there like many have suggested.

[maupin42]

Bummer...
I have been taking classes online for a while. University of Phoenix was having this problem and they realized that they needed to let Mac and Linux users have their way. There are just too many of the non-microsoft people out there now. Your school is bound to find this out.
I recommend virtual box, or try and install this LockDown.exe in wine, however, I do know that browsers do have a hard time running in wine.

[beefcurry]

I suggest you should write to your school about this, obviously they didn't think things through before accepted to use this tool. My University recommends Firefox, I have no problems with that :D.

[pseudo-random]

Lockdown browser. What a load of rubbish. Thats the most pointless application I've ever seen!
I can think of a dozen ways to circumvent that.
Your school are morons and have the same IT knowledge as the British Home secretary:
"We will make all paedophiles register their email address on a police database so we can warn website admins they are paedophiles..."
Stupid.

[adamos]

this is so useless.. i have 2 pcs, 1 laptop and a server. one more way to rip off universities and create monopolization with windows. i go to IT school and 90% of my classmates are carrying laptops with them as their extra pc. at least every household has 2 pcs. or in the dorms they have 4-5 pcs in each dorm

[phrostbyte]

The whole idea behind the LockDown Browser is retarded. I guess they assume people don't have two computers or run LockDown in a VM? Bahaha. That's what happens when ignoramouses make computer decisions.

[st0n3cutt3r]

this is ridiculous.

If you are determined to cheat, you'll use a second computer, or a cell phone, or a PDA, or a workaround for the software. I have 4 computers at home, and probably 8 at my disposal counting my roommates which I could borrow. What's to keep me (a hypothetical student) from bringing another computer along... or a text book for that matter? ...what an absurd thing to implement...?

[CREEPING DEATH]

Sounds like the University is likely the 'victim' of a good salesman!

Cd

[lavagolemking]

I wrote an article on this program, including the ideas of VMs/second_computers/phones/group_tests, locking out Linux, OS instability from its bugs, ways of running IM clients in the background with it, etc. My school's IT department doesn't really care about my views on the matter, but hopefully some other schools will read it with an open mind. Feel free to reproduce. Personally, I think the admin for this thing here is either in denial of being ripped off on their contract with their limited funds, angry for posting this on a public website, or both.

http://opensource.cse.ohio-state.edu/lockdown

To address other Concerns, no it doesn't run in Wine. It has to hook Windows components, like the task manager, to "lock down" the computer, therefore, it will install, but never start up when run in Wine. It worked ok in QEMU, but QEMU hasn't worked for me in a while. I took a screenshot of it in QEMU with Pidgin in the background on an away message (in a good-natured sense of humor) and Firefox opened to Google (by the way, it's supposed to stop screenshots). See my article for the full story. It does run in Mac OSX now, but not Linux, and I doubt they have any intention of implementing it there.

To those unfamiliar with the anti-cheating toy, it opens in full screen to the site you are supposed to take the exam, with only an [X] (which refuses to close it if you're in a quiz), back, forward, stop, refresh, foreign character toolbar (I wonder who that was for... can we say targeted advertising?), and an update button; hooks the OS to disable right-clicking, task manager, hotkeys, remove the Start menu/taskbar, remove privileges to shutdown Windows, etc.; and checks your running processes for blacklisted "cheating programs" such as "aim.exe" (at the time it didn't detect Pidgin, so I sent myself a link to Google in Pidgin, and opened Firefox on top of their "secure" environment).

Respondus put a cute little marketing demo on their site, for those truly interested in the junkware. It amazes me how so many schools [1 (http://www.respondus.com/products/campus_list.shtml)], which are supposed to be smarter than this, got suckered into such a product. This just proves how powerful advertising can be.

http://www.respondus.com/LDB_Vista_Prod2/LDB_Vista_Prod2.html

By the way, if anyone reading this is managing the LockDown Browser for a school or is Respondus themselves, I have 2 more ways of bypassing the restrictions without patching your toy, and they're not yet published. One lets me move the window around (and access my desktop), and the other lets me open any arbitrary program or window location I choose, both while the program is running. Better hurry up and patch them before someone starts cheating!

[ronacc]

As a geezer who predates theese infernal boxes I can testify that people cheated long before pc's were around . And why would you need to have a second PC to cheat can "lockdown browser " stop you from looking in a book or asking your roommate?

[GTengineer]

LMAO at the "lockdown browser" that made me snot a little. Your school seems to be really out of touch with technology. Have they even heard of a phone? txt message? If someone wanted to cheat there are about 1000 ways to do it.

Have you tried to run it in a virtual machine yet?

[nebu]

lockdown is a ridiculous idea!!!

havent these guys heard about a virtual machine!!!!


btw.... most colleges(at least mine does) in india use open source software.... and the idea of having online tests have also not caught on here either so it will be sometime before i will have to use **** like lockdown..... we still have the good old pen and paper.....

[tommynz1975]

As the original poster is from America all I can say is.. this lockoff program might violate your cival rights to use the OS of choice.

As I understand all you are doing is accessing a sercure site to do your exam?


Best of luck:guitar:

[Bölvaður]

Isn't it a ritual in your country to sue for something like this?

I think they deserve it.. make them buy you a special computer so you can take tests :D

[Biochem]

Silly question.

What happen if computer crash???
(read hard reboot)

[lavagolemking]

Silly question.

What happen if computer crash???
(read hard reboot)

If the program closes in any way other than from its own interface, the restrictions become permanent. No more [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Delete] for you, since the program has to properly close in order to lift the restrictions.

[Biochem]

If the program closes in any way other than from its own interface, the restrictions become permanent. No more [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Delete] for you, since the program has to properly close in order to lift the restrictions.

Am I to understand that if the computer crash and restart the computer become a weight paper :confused:

That sounds like a lot of angry student at the help desk. Maybe a lawsuit or two in the US too.

[Beanmonster]

I attend the University of Johannesburg in South Africa and wiht the use of a system called Edulink, all my classes and courses are listed, each has their own sub-site with Announcement pages, a calender with important dates, discussion boards, student mail, your grades, lecture slide downloads and extra downloadable material. All in secure javascript!

Then The lockdown browser comes in, ruins my ubuntu experience completely!!!

Heads will roll!

[Archmage]

The LockDown Browser supports Windows and Mac but not Linux! When launched the browser automatically shuts down unnecessary applications that may be running. For instance, Pidgin, FireFox, Word, etc. It does this in order to stop people from cheating.

I'm sorry, but how stuipd is this? People can still cheat very easy on this test. Since you can esay have a second PC in the room, a professor and so on.

There is NO way to avoid cheating.

[Cresho]

Major Universities such as the University of Minnesota and other MN schools now require students to have a Windows OS. The reason they are requiring this is because more and more classes have online exams. This is especially true when you take an Online course.

For the three years that I've been a MN student I haven't had a problem using Ubuntu until recently. The problems comes when I try to take an online test. My school now requires me to take the test with a new web browser called: "LockDown Browser" by Respondus.

Here is the link to the application:

http://www.respondus.com/products/lockdown.shtml


The LockDown Browser supports Windows and Mac but not Linux! When launched the browser automatically shuts down unnecessary applications that may be running. For instance, Pidgin, FireFox, Word, etc. It does this in order to stop people from cheating.

So, if you only have Ubuntu on your system you're screwed because without the LockDown Browser you can't take your exam. Which means you'll earn an F! for trying to support open source!

This is really troubling because I would love to use Ubuntu exclusively but am unable to do so until I'm done with school.

I've tried to get Wine to run the browser but it doesn't work.

Just thought I would warn all those students out their that love Ubuntu. You'll have to dual boot. :mad:

virtualbox

[TCSnyder]

My School just started using this. It is ridiculous. This program was probably thought of by Bill Gates himself. I am going to write the president of my school. If i wanted to cheat i would take notes on PAPER. try to track that on a computer program.

[TCSnyder]

And Respondus doesn't even make you shutdown M$ Notepad. well i have a paper to write for the president of school

[damis648]

This is just STUPID. I can not even express how STUPID I feel this to be. Hello? Notepad? Cell Phone? Virtualization? PAPER?! This is not even funny how stupid this is. I would write a very strong letter to whoever you feel you should write to and demand you be able to use your own OS or somehow make them buy you a computer. Argh. Comon. How stupid can you get?!

[mike1234]

Major Universities such as the University of Minnesota and other MN schools now require students to have a Windows OS. The reason they are requiring this is because more and more classes have online exams. This is especially true when you take an Online course.

For the three years that I've been a MN student I haven't had a problem using Ubuntu until recently. The problems comes when I try to take an online test. My school now requires me to take the test with a new web browser called: "LockDown Browser" by Respondus.

Here is the link to the application:

http://www.respondus.com/products/lockdown.shtml


The LockDown Browser supports Windows and Mac but not Linux! When launched the browser automatically shuts down unnecessary applications that may be running. For instance, Pidgin, FireFox, Word, etc. It does this in order to stop people from cheating.

So, if you only have Ubuntu on your system you're screwed because without the LockDown Browser you can't take your exam. Which means you'll earn an F! for trying to support open source!

This is really troubling because I would love to use Ubuntu exclusively but am unable to do so until I'm done with school.

I've tried to get Wine to run the browser but it doesn't work.

Just thought I would warn all those students out their that love Ubuntu. You'll have to dual boot. :mad:


Why didn't you use the big fonts? They do it here at OSU local branch as well. It's the standard in todays computing. My son is attending the same school I did and was complaining about it. He was forced to purchase MS office student edition. What a crock! Of course maybe "porn" has something to do with their decision?

M.

M.

[compnut41]

Try wine, it runs windows programs on ubuntu

[damis648]

Try wine, it runs windows programs on ubuntu

We know that. The OP has tried wine..

[outphase]

Many law schools uses ExamSoft's SofTest. It's terrible and it rapes a Windows install. I heard from a few people that it detects VMWare (and other virtualization apps) fairly effectively. I keep a lone Windows install on my system for that purpose. It sucks, but I can only fight the system so much.

[TCSnyder]

i am writing my outline for my letter to the president of my college. and if anyone else is I found a great point to use. after a little research i found out that all the program does is look through all the current processes and finds different .exe files that flags that program as one it cannot start with. OpenOffice.org is written in Java. Java is compiled through a virtual machine. Your computer reads a .jar file and all the processes are shown as the java runtime environment. so Any program written in Java is invisible to the software, even OpenOffice.org

[ubuntu27]

Your school are morons and have the same IT knowledge as the British Home secretary:
"We will make all paedophiles register their email address on a police database so we can warn website admins they are paedophiles..."
Stupid.

Are you serious!? Can you give the source?

[mike1234]

Are you serious!? Can you give the source?

Originally Posted by pseudo-random View Post
Your school are morons and have the same IT knowledge as the British Home secretary:
"We will make all paedophiles register their email address on a police database so we can warn website admins they are paedophiles..."
Stupid.

Typical government stupidity. How hard is it to create an email address with hotmail or gmail, etc? These assclowns should consult the I.T. dept. before running their mouth. Who needs more "protection" from their government? Maybe parents might try getting involved in their kids life instead of using the electronic babysitter approach. And the rest shouldn't be so gullible to be cruising for the relationships on the Internet. Use your brains, if you don't have any, you deserve what you get. Sort of reminds me of current gun laws. How do they prevent crime? I can run down to the corner right now and buy a bag of weed and a Saturday night special from a dope dealer, if I wanted to. Pass some more laws, idiots.

M.

[damis648]

Are you serious!? Can you give the source?

That is just stupid. It's hard to say it, but more stupid than this Lockdown Browser we are talking about.

[Beanmonster]

I guess it's not only the students who find faults with the whole Respondus method.

At the University of Johannesburg, as of yesterday it is now possible to do online tests and assignments through normal firefox! All that happens now is you have a time limit per attempt at an assessment, and the questions are ever changing. This way there isn't really an opportunity to cheat.

Respondus is still on the PC's on campus but when opening the browser it 404's.

I AM FREE!!!

[TCSnyder]

Our tests still have time limits and we have to use repondus

[faction918]

All I can say is the replies (for the most part) to this thread are completely off topic and ill-educated. The idea behind Respondus LockDown Browser is for on-campus computer testing labs that are monitored by cameras and staff; students in this situation would not be able to cheat by cellular phone or physical notes. Respondus would then restrict the user was opening more than one session - additionally, the windows box has already been locked down by the IT staff.

However, back to the topic, why campuses are using this application for remote test taking is obviously under thought.

I, too, was just looking for a user agent code to input into Firefox, however, most everyone else here was too busy to consider answering the question.

Thanks for the few who submitted the idea for VM.

Regards.

[kdorf]

Umm, I go to the University of Minnesota and have never encountered any such nonsense.

I would hardly say UMN is "forcing" anyone to use Windows, in fact, their ResNet system skips scanning Linux systems for antivirus or firewalls. A good number of the computer labs use Linux based operating systems.

I've never at any point been forced to adapt because I use Linux. At least not for any reason you can blame the UMN for.

As has been said: VM.

[linuxguymarshall]

A second computer would do it. Check older and newer versions of wine and.....wow....that browser is truly locked down

[lavagolemking]

All I can say is the replies (for the most part) to this thread are completely off topic and ill-educated. The idea behind Respondus LockDown Browser is for on-campus computer testing labs that are monitored by cameras and staff; students in this situation would not be able to cheat by cellular phone or physical notes. Respondus would then restrict the user was opening more than one session - additionally, the windows box has already been locked down by the IT staff.
As an excuse for locking out non Microsoft/Apple operating systems from homework assignments, schools generally say they have computer labs with the software installed, so if the student doesn't want to pay MS taxes they can use the lab. That does not mean the software was meant to be in labs only. From their download site, there is even an option for using it on your home computer (http://www.respondus.com/lockdown/installw1.pl?ID=462913331). Respondus LockDown Browser was something students were to use for online exams, which could be taken from their own computer, unsupervised. Naive professors who are fond of the program tend to press it on students, saying they have to do "homework" or "quizzes" using the program. The program isn't necessarily a school-wide policy, but it's an add-on to a popular quiz-generating program called "Respondus" that the instructors use. They check a box that says to require students' use of this piece of junk, and then the students are prompted to install the browser before starting the exam, so naturally a few professors will tick the box thinking their tests are safe from academic misconduct. Some schools (mine at least) are beginning to realize that turning a student's laptop into a kiosk does little to prevent cheating but risks angry students at IT desks with broken operating systems, so they're encouraging requiring use of classroom lab computers for in-person tests in conjunction with it instead of end-user installation. I think they even mention the incompatibility with Linux as a consideration now...

I, too, was just looking for a user agent code to input into Firefox, however, most everyone else here was too busy to consider answering the question.
Don't bother with the user agent. It just embeds the OS default into itself. So, if you have Internet Explorer 7 installed, it will identify itself with all the exact same details as if you were using IE7, for example Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1). Since it doesn't have Internet Explorer to embed, or Windows Explorer to hook for that matter, it doesn't run in wine, although it will install.

i am writing my outline for my letter to the president of my college. and if anyone else is I found a great point to use. after a little research i found out that all the program does is look through all the current processes and finds different .exe files that flags that program as one it cannot start with. OpenOffice.org is written in Java. Java is compiled through a virtual machine. Your computer reads a .jar file and all the processes are shown as the java runtime environment. so Any program written in Java is invisible to the software, even OpenOffice.org

An easy way around that is by renaming the processes. For example, once they figured out there are open source instant messaging programs and people don't always use aim.exe for instant messaging, I renamed pidgin.exe to pigeon.exe and the browser let it run. They seem to be doing just a little bit more (description or window name or something) because it's now recognizing whatever I pick by its original file name. By some strange coincidence, they added that just after I posted it to my web page. Having another program open on top of the browser won't do a lot of good, since task switching is disabled, and I think it now puts itself on top of all other windows, but some of the program's restrictions can be nulled out in a hex editor. If you're looking for material in your report to the deans, then perhaps tinyurl.com/lockdown (http://tinyurl.com/lockdown) is a good start. Be warned that it's going to be a little out-dated; I think Respondus is reading my article, because when one of the first "holes" I published involved AVG, they immediately blacklisted it in an update and I can think of little other reason for them to blacklist security software.

To the point, the best ways around it are the following:
Tell the instructor the program won't work for you. Be either specific (tell them you use Ubuntu) or ambiguous.
Use a virtual machine (Wine won't work). While I've heard rumors of it detecting VMs, I've yet to see it realize when it's being run in QEMU from Ubuntu.
If all else fails, when you get a bad grade for non-compliance with proprietary standards, appeal to the dean or provost. Unless it's a Microsoft pre-CIS learn-to-use-Office/Windows type of course, or the instructor said you need Windows on the syllabus, you'll probably have a good case and might get a grade change out of it.