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Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

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231–240 of 442 posts

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#231
> Does anyone know how to refer these people to law enforcement for prosecution?

This is quite an overreaction. Prosecution?

Besides, would this even be a criminal offense? I'm thinking it is more likely to be a civil case, if anything.

It's not like the police are going to go into the school and perp walk the IT technician out in hand cuffs because your child's laptop has monitoring software installed on it.

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#232
post #19

You could always install a different OS on your son's Chromebook since it would still have access to all of the school's software (through Chrome) and more. I'd recommend GalliumOS ( https://galliumos.org/ ) since the drivers support audio and keyboard shortcuts better.

Ran GalliumOS all throughout college without any issue. A Toshiba i3 Chromebook + Gallium was easily one of the best laptops I ever had. OP - seriously consider this solution if it wouldn't agitate the school too much. Swap out the usually small (16GB or so) SSD that tends to come with Chromebooks, install Gallium, and you're off to the races. Might still be some weird compatibility issues/edge cases that are hard to predict; maybe run Gallium in a VM, log into your sons Google Classroom, and do some testing first.

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#233

> I bought him a Chromebook for schoolwork, but also for other private things. When we logged in... This is why you need to pay attention to the technology choices that you make, and that your schools make. Chromebooks are designed from the ground up to be locked-down dystopian spyware once you "log in" to them with a specific Google account. For heaven's sake stop buying any more Chromebooks. The correct solution he…

[dead]

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Chromebooks are designed from the ground up to be locked-down dystopian spyware once you "log in" to them with a specific Google account. Nonsense. They were designed to implement required policies when someone logs into a managed domain. Unless you're logging into something like that (where disclosures have been made and consent has been obtained) then there's no "dystopian spyware" involved. Absent any domain man…

One solution could be to setup the laptop with a personal email account and configure the school email address to forward everything.

If the student needs to use a Chromebook for school, that won't work. On my daughter's Chromebook, every app and website is tied to the account. It's not just a question of forwarding email.

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#235

I fought this with a suburban school system in Indiana and won. The spyware was installed on Chromebooks I bought. Before contacting the school, I monitored network traffic for about 1 HR and found a an ad fraud click bot and logging being sent to India. When I contacted the school my ask was they remove the spyware from my Chromebooks. The first answer was, no. I asked again via the superintendent, and got a call fr…

That's great for your situation - what about the rest of the people in your district? Did you reach out to other parents and make this problem known publicly, along with your solution, so that other parents could decide for themselves (individually or collectively) what their response should be?

Seems like this would be a slam dunk of a local news piece for some newspaper/website.

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#236
post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From Wikipedia [1]: > GoGuardian products allow teachers and administrators to view and snapshot students' computer screens, close and open browser tabs, and see running applications. GoGuardian can collect information about any activity when users are logged onto their accounts, including data originating from a student's webcam, microphone, keyboard, and screen, along with historical data such as browsing history.…

Having a 'right to be angry' doesn't mean being angry is the tactic to further one's goals.

My point was that the parent comment was downplaying the significance of the problem and shifting blame on the victim with statements like this:

> escalating a simple technical support issue into a rant about ‘spyware’

The right tactic for objecting to school officials was besides my point.

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#237
IMO the account settings are acting like the chromebook is the school's property, and thus should be purchased and owned by the school, not the household. Otherwise it's another form of tuition charge. I don't think public schools charge for textbooks either correct?

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#238

GoGuardian CEO here. Lots of misinformation in this thread. Chrome extensions are attached to your Google account. Your son logged into his Chromebook with his CPS account which in turn installed the GoGuardian chrome extension. The simplest solution here is to just log on to your Chromebook with a personal account. No enterprise policy will be applied.

>Lots of misinformation

So post some clarifications? Sound like they tried what you suggested and it didn’t work.

Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it

#240
post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I don't really know how the Chicago school board meetings go, but I watch the MTA board meetings. (The MTA is New York State's public transportation agency.) They have a public comment section where you get 2 minutes to say whatever you want. These rants are usually completely incoherent and I doubt any board member could remember a specific point from any one of the commenters. I watch them all and I certainly…

Out of curiosity, why do you watch them all? Especially if you can't remember anything?

He is probably not watching the public comment section closely, but the other parts.
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