I'm new here and need some advice on a privacy concern. I'm currently studying nursing and have to use Secure Exam Proctor through Proctorio for my online tests. When I opened the extension, I saw some troubling reviews that made me uneasy about it accessing my files. I've read that one option could be setting up a second user account on my laptop, which is a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5, to protect my personal documents. Another suggestion is to use an external SSD as the main storage during exams. However, I'm not very tech-savvy and don't know how effective these methods would be or where to start. Are these suggestions good for protecting my privacy, or do you have better alternatives?
5 Answers
An alternative could be getting an extra drive and booting a lightweight OS for your exams. This way, you could use a completely separate environment that has nothing to do with your personal stuff. But you could also just use a different device altogether, if that's more convenient.
I think the easiest approach is definitely to just create that separate user account. It keeps everything straightforward and your personal info stays out of reach while you're using Proctorio. No need to complicate things further!
Honestly, your worries might be a bit overblown. Proctorio only accesses your data during the exam, and it doesn't look through personal files or history. It focuses on maintaining academic honesty by using video and screen capture, and it uses encryption to ensure your data stays private.
Setting up a second user account just for the exam software is a smart move. It'll keep your personal files safe from the app while you're taking your tests. Much simpler than dealing with partitions or external drives, too!
The software does need access to some of your system's data since it's designed to prevent cheating, but rest assured that they really won't care what's on your device. Focus on taking your exam and trust the process.
Just a heads up, if you go the VM route, a lot of exam proctor software can detect it, so that could be a problem!