you could put linux over the top? Chrome books make reasonable linux laptops generally.
Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
411–420 of 442 posts
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#412If I were you I'd just blow away the OS, and put ubuntu LTS with xubuntu or something which will perform well on low-spec laptops. Unless google has the boot loader locked down I've heard Chromebooks make reasonable linux systems as they come with an ssd etc.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#413Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
You can have multiple accounts on a Chromebook.
As others have mentioned above, GoGuardian is at the device level, not the account level.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#414My son came home with a Chromebook and I'm trying my hardest to make him hate it by talking as much shit about it every chance I get. I made sure to get him a desktop with games, dual boot windows and ubuntu and stress that if there's anything he wants to do, we can do it.
What lesson are you teaching your child?
That Chrome OS is locked down and doesn't let you do anything nerdy like programming. I learned how to use a computer by using it and crashing it, I've shown him the browser, I've shown him terminal, how to use tab to auto-complete and how to use man and VIM style keys to navigate it. I've also thought him about PC gaming, Discord, Minecraft servers, that sort of thing. Honestly, I think just him knowing how to use a mouse and keyboard and liking them is an accomplishment.
I've locked down his tablets because he's fallen for all the "modern evils" like Messenger Kids and endless games that ask for money. I'll likely open it back up so he can explore again, but when I was a kid, doing something as simple as playing online required tunneling services and setting that up actually taught you something useful. So yeah, it's tough but I don't think glorifying dystopian devices ecosystems like iOS and ChromeOS is a good idea.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#415Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can have multiple accounts on a Chromebook.
As others have mentioned above, GoGuardian is at the device level, not the account level.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#416Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not the device, the student district-managed account that is logging into the device. Districts are bound by law (varying from state to state) at a basic level to filter content and restrict access in the broadest sense, on or off the district network. I've worked in multiple states for various districts they all had similar compliance requirements.
I don't see how the mere fact of someone being logged into a school account could create such a requirement. If I log into the school account from a normal desktop computer, I don't believe that the school even has the ability to restrict what webpages can subsequently be accessed. Is the school then failing to meet its responsibilities? If not, then how could they be required to enforce this on a chromebook that the…
We run Chromebooks. I'm logged into one right now, on my personal account. There is no way for me, the GSuite admin of my company, to fuck with that personal account.
I can't read anything from it, I can't manage it in any way, I can do nothing. Some things in the personal account aren't accessible (you can only have one account on Chromebooks with a Linux VM), that's it.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#417Earlier quoted context omitted.
ChromeOS developer here (opinions are my own, etc etc), writing as a user though since I don't work on this specific field myself but I've been using chromebooks daily with multiple accounts (corp and personal) daily for the greater part of a decade. You have a few options on how you log into ChromeOS. Once you boot the device, you can choose which account to sign in as. If it's your corp account, you get whatever co…
> In this situation, whichever account logged in first is the account that "owns" the session and has policies applied. So if you log in to your personal account first, and then into the corporate account, the corporate policies are not applied to either account? There are probably a bunch of corporate types who will be very surprised to learn this…
Typically, the corporate login will be blocked if you attempt this.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#418related support ticket from someone trying to log into device w/ work account without inheriting workplace MDM policy https://support.google.com/chromebook/thread/117916330/how-t... > Even if the Chromebook is your private device and your owner account is your private @gmail.com account, once you sign in with a managed account, even using a separate profile, the managed account polices become active. > This is NOT a…
Hmm. I’m not super familiar with ChromeOS’s MDM stuff… but I wonder what would happen if someone were to log in to two separate managed accounts, for two separate organizations, with conflicting requirements?
It'll block the multi-login and require you to fully sign out of everything, THEN log into the other organization account.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#419I have no idea how school/board/us/system/it/student thing works so I won't speak to 'how do I get rid of spyware' and 'can I call the police'. It is improbable you can. Like, where I work, if I want to use my work mail with my android phone, my IT mandates I have a remote-wipe installed ... I am hopeful, that the androids work profile keeps the work-it separate from my personal browser history, but I can live with it.
What I would do, is give my kid their own google account. I assume they don't need 'shool-mamaged-chromebook', just 'a computer that can access Google Classroom'. Then, after running the chromebook with your own account, your kid should still be able to log in with the school account in browser, without handing over admin privileges.
Re: Tell HN: My kid's school installed spyware and I can't remove it
#420Don't use the CPS provided account. CPS policy is quite clear: https://policy.cps.edu/download.aspx?ID=203 > I. Applicability. > This policy applies to all students who use CPS Computer Resources and/or access the CPS Network (“Students”). Personal electronic devices (e.g. personal laptop) are subject to this policy when such devices are connected to the CPS Network or Computer Resources. > IV. Privacy and Monitoring…
Sounds like CPS is due for some major policy changes. Schools should not be teaching students that this sort of intrusive infringement of their privacy is something to be tolerated.
I'm not sure I agree that this is an infringement of their privacy - or more accurately I think this is a reflection of the fact that there's no reasonable expectation of privacy in a public space (physical or virtual).
It is perfectly normal in working circles that your activities on company owned devices or devices connected to a company network are monitored.
If the school required everyone to purchase a private device and then install monitoring software on it, then I think it would be reasonable to argue that if they want to control it, they should pay for it.
However, there was no such obligation here, OP simply bought a private device and expected to be able to connect it to a service someone else is paying for (yes, I know OP probably pays their taxes, and so is paying indirectly). They expected to take advantage of all the services provided by CPS without checking what the prerequisites for that might be.