iTalc at School :|

[joshdudeha]

They started using iTalc at school to look at peoples computers "silently" now.
It's on Windows, but I was wondering.
The application is running off an application called ica.exe in the task manager,
If I were to end this process, would that close the program on the computer, therefore disabling them to look at my computer?
I'm not doing anything bad, I just feel slightly against this, big brother?, thing

[Mehall]

They started using iTalc at school to look at peoples computers "silently" now.
It's on Windows, but I was wondering.
The application is running off an application called ica.exe in the task manager,
If I were to end this process, would that close the program on the computer, therefore disabling them to look at my computer?
I'm not doing anything bad, I just feel slightly against this, big brother?, thing

I would be surprised if they give you rights to end that process, but yes, if you can end it, they can;t spy on you actively (though they can always track your internet traffic)

[Skripka]

If the iTalc writes, and the sysadmins have any brains--closing the *.exe should set off alarms at the admins terminal...or crash the machine.

That being said...often times the "Big Brother" software implementations by school sysadmin aren't always thought thru.

[joshdudeha]

Hmm, well we have access to the task manager and the rights to close process.
But I don't know.
It's all part of this "Virtual Learning Environment" called Frog Server.
Man, I hate it.
.

[joshdudeha]

and if they caught me, I'd probably get totally done.

[rick71]

If the iTalc writes, and the sysadmins have any brains--closing the *.exe should set off alarms at the admins terminal...or crash the machine.

That being said...often times the "Big Brother" software implementations by school sysadmin aren't always thought thru.

First. iTalc is used for more than monitoring. It can be used for remote assistance, and more.

Second, if students refined from unauthorized use of the computer and/or network, monitoring software would be less needed.

[rick71]

They started using iTalc at school to look at peoples computers "silently" now.
It's on Windows, but I was wondering.
The application is running off an application called ica.exe in the task manager,
If I were to end this process, would that close the program on the computer, therefore disabling them to look at my computer?
I'm not doing anything bad, I just feel slightly against this, big brother?, thing

If you have root/admin privileges, it is possible to stop the iTalc service. However, I am sure that would be a violation of the network and/or computer use policies.

And remember, the network is not yours to abuse.

[dragos240]

You know, i bet you could just bring an ubuntu cd or USB disk into school and boot from it, wouldn't that solve the problem?

[Vince4Amy]

We use Ranger Remote Control from Sentinel products to do a similar thing. We've locked down Task Manager too so that nobody can close the process. And if they do it will throw them off the network. If there is something not right with Ranger it will throw ANY network user off, even Network admin. The only profile which has permission to stay on is Local Admin for obvious reasons.


You know, i bet you could just bring an ubuntu cd or USB disk into school and boot from it, wouldn't that solve the problem?

Discuss that with your Administrator. Though if they have gone the extra mile like we did, you won't be able get on the Internet as an ISA Server or something similar will deny you access so without the Internet and access to the network (Unless you tweak around SAMBA) it will pretty useless.

[dragos240]

Thats why i like ubuntu, stupid spyware...

[Giant Speck]

You know, i bet you could just bring an ubuntu cd or USB disk into school and boot from it, wouldn't that solve the problem?

Or bring your own computer.

I'm sure that the school policy is that if you use the computers you are giving consent to being monitored. They have every right to monitor their own computers. Don't want to be monitored? Don't use the school computers.

[tom66]

We have NetSupport at school, but many pupils have learned how to stop it working; putting the computer in standby then resuming it (before or during lock) usually stops the lock screen feature working.

[Vince4Amy]

Thats why i like ubuntu, stupid spyware...

It's not Spyware, it's installed so that the school can monitor whoever they like which is perfectly reasonable. Everyone should have signed an AUP or some similar contract before using the school network, basically if you don't like it don't use the network.

[dragos240]

We have NetSupport at school, but many pupils have learned how to stop it working; putting the computer in standby then resuming it (before or during lock) usually stops the lock screen feature working.

Clever...

EDIT: Also, why couldn't they monitor computers from their local ip's, that way they can see everything regardless of the OS running on it.

[rick71]

Or bring your own computer.

I'm sure that the school policy is that if you use the computers you are giving consent to being monitored. They have every right to monitor their own computers. Don't want to be monitored? Don't use the school computers.

There may be an acceptable use policy for using computers in class or on campus, as well as connecting to the network.

[Giant Speck]

There may be an acceptable use policy for using computers in class or on campus, as well as connecting to the network.

The bottom line is that the computers are owned by the school district. The school district has the right to restrict its students' use of the computers in any way they like.

I remember working at a public library where we had two sets of computers. We had about eight general purpose computers that people could use for browsing the internet, use a word processor and play games. We also had about four computers that were designated for using the library's online card catalog program only.

Well, for a while, the card catalog computers were not restricted. They were basically just like the general purpose computers, except they didn't have all of the associated games and office software installed. We kept catching people using the card catalog computers to just browse the internet. Eventually, we had to lock down the computers so that the only website they could view was the library's online card catalog. Any attempt to view a different webpage would prompt for a password.