Experience with 'Secure' Exam Testing Software?

Durindana writes "My law school has decided using the Exam4 software from Extegrity, thinking it would be a good idea. I disagree; the software can only be used by students on their own laptops, and (of course) Exam4 is mono-platform. Anyone have experience using this software (e.g. security level, reliability) or, hopefully, successfully opposing its use? It strikes me as a hell of a disadvantage to students who'd like an alternative to hand-writing but - for some strange reason - don't own a Windows laptop."

Comments

To re-phrase

[psilosopher256]

To re-phrase this question: "What are the security vulnerabilities of my exam software, and how can I exploit them to do well on my test?"

Exam software??

[ewhenn]

How long until the masses discover "net send"??

UltraSecure Mode

[joelparker]

From the website, emphasis mine:

• "UltraSecure Mode" requires a special "Start Code"
  for invoking "UltraSecure Mode" and a "Secret Number"
  for unlocking the encrypted exam answers; and our nifty
  "ExamOpener" utility software that "semi-automatically"
  retrieves exams from the floppy disks...

And cheaters get "Double Secret Probabtion"
then a nifty fine of "One Trillion Dollars"
and jail time in an "UltraSecure" cell
guarded by "Sharks With Laser Beams"

Gak, you're posting the same crap

[Gzip Christ]

We use this software at my dental school

That's funny, because it looks like you lifted the policy that you quoted from The University of Maryland's Law School Policy. I think it's no coincidence that this is the first link that shows up when you search in Google for exam4 policy. Do not follow the advice of the original poster - it is bogus advice and he is lying. He is most definitely is not in "dental school" and does not use Exam4. He is making up crap like this to get extra karma, which is kind of funny, but he is spreading disinformation and plagairizing posts by others in the process. Read his journal if you don't believe me.

You can't trust the client

[Muggins the Mad]

As someone who also develops examination software, and who is doing academic research into computer security, I have to say that this is a ridiculous idea. Aside from requiring people to have specific hardware and purchase specific (pricey, but I guess they're law students...) software, the security issues here are horrendous.

The *only* ways to do this kind of thing is either have the software running on trusted hardware like a previously set up computer lab, or run the software on a trusted server and give the *untrusted* clients only a thin-client (citrix/ts/vnc/web browser). AND you have to have someone supervising them to make sure they've smuggled no notes in and aren't cut'n'pasting from another app.

Surely a law school, of all places, would have someone who knows a bit about information security on staff?

This software looks like exactly the kind of product developed by someone with no security training outside Microsofts VB tutorials.

Exactly the kind of software not to use for anything important - and Exams at Law School are important - there is a huge amount of money and future careers involved.

- Muggins the Mad

What kind of name is "Extegrity"?

[Feztaa]

I'm surprised that nobody else has brought this up, but hear me out...

If "interior" is the opposite of "exterior", then what is the opposite of "extegrity"? :)