How To Know If Your School-Issued Laptop Has Spyware Installed
They’re not allowed to, but they do
Schools aren’t legally allowed to spy on their students through school-issued laptops or webcams for that matter. However, there have been several reported cases where schools or colleges install spyware, or require parents to put spyware on their children’s devices.
Remember the “WebcamGate” scandal that led to theRobbins v. Lower Merion School District federal class action lawsuit? Well, that ended with the school paying a staggering $610,000 settlement to settle that suit, after they were caughtsecretly spying on students in the privacy of their homes.
Authorities from the school did this via webcams embedded in the laptops. Over 66,000 images had been secretly taken.
Why Schools Install Spyware On School-Issued Laptops
School-issued laptops are often available for a highly subsidized price, sometimes even given for free. They come with unresolved ethical questions and real costs though.
Some software and programs installed to spy on the students sends their data automatically to the cloud, and often without their knowledge or consent, or that of their families.
Such technology also makes it possible for school authorities or teachers to spy on any of the students on campus or at home, whether or not they’re using the computers. Teachers can see what students are doing by viewing their screens without their knowledge or consent, but they can also see how much time the students spend on particular websites or school assignments.
School principals can also view the teachers’ laptop screens and see how much time they’ve spent on browsing the internet, the sites they visit and a lot more.
Does Your School-Issued Laptop Has Spyware On It?
Instead of waiting until the principal at your school accuses you of “improper behavior” at home, you cancheck your own school-issued computer for spyware and remove itusing a few tips we’ll share with you below.
The TEMP folder helps your computer to bring up a website or program easily, but malware often hides within the folder. So if you see suspicious files, delete them.
If your laptop has astrong antivirus or anti-malware program, run a scan so it can check for and pick on any malicious programs, and scan for spyware present in the system. Other malicious software like Remote Access Trojans (RAT), keyloggers, orVNC appsused to spy on you can also be picked up by the scans.
Make sure your security software’s update utility has the most recent definitions, which helps update the malware definitions for a successful scan.
Use Software To Remove Stubborn Programs
If you come across stubborn programs that refuse to be removed from the Programs Manager, download and install third-party software and run it in Safe Mode touninstall the spyware or monitoring software. A good tool for this would beRevoUninstaller or PC Decrapifier.
Conclusion
If you find out that your school-issued laptop is being used to illegally spy on you, one of the best options you have once you have gathered solid evidence is to follow up your claims with the police.
Elsie is a technology writer and editor with a special focus on Windows, Android and iOS. She writes about software, electronics and other tech subjects, her ultimate goal being to help people out with useful solutions to their daily tech issues in a simple, straightforward and unbiased style. She has a BCom degree in Marketing and currently pursuing her Masters in Communications and New Media.Read Elsie’s Full Bio
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