Is My School Allowed to Do This?
- Thread starter Heartcafe
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You should consider yourself lucky you can bring your laptop in and hook it up at all. Most of those laptops have way more detrimental malware than the school'd stick in there... sometimes the policy of forcing specific configurations and softwares is as much to keep the network clean from THAT then to restrict from websites that you're not supposed to be on anyways.
That other bit tho? That's just cake.
That other bit tho? That's just cake.
When the kids arent using the internet for education purposes (facebook, twitter, porn) then its not a case of Big Brother, its a case of use the wifi the the intended purpose or itll have to be policed. Its not that hard of a concept.FalloutJack said:
Actually text books are what you use most to do the work you do in school. Using the school's internet or the laptop at all is a choice. The school is allowed by the law (chek the law, it's legal for schools and corporations to watch activity on all computers at the network). They aren't paid to be Big Brother, but there's no law against limitting it it's the right of any network owner to do so in the way they choose.FalloutJack said:
We had something like this in my high school. It was annoying, but what can you do? We tried to get them to change the system so we wouldn't be bothered by it as much as we were. After a whole lot of work we managed to accomplish nothing. Our issues with it was that the software used to watch us had to be turned off or it would stay on and watch everything we did and transfer screenshots recording everything we had done when we were off the network. This would include passwords.
Also to your follow up question regarding Facebook that isn't legal.
It's the schools Internet so yes, they set the access rules and by using it your accepting their 'terms and conditions'.
1) Students shouldn't be on FB at school anymore than they should be watching pornography.
2) If you disagree vehemently with them you could refuse to use their Internet.
1) Students shouldn't be on FB at school anymore than they should be watching pornography.
2) If you disagree vehemently with them you could refuse to use their Internet.
Just let it go. For one, you couldn't prove they browsed the information anyway. Secondly, just don't get on Facebook/etc. at school. You know the policy, you're completely aware of it, and now you know that they absolutely have every right to enforce it.Heartcafe said:
You don't have any right to that internet connection. You have very, very few rights while using that internet connection. The school has internet so that it can be used for instructional purposes, and for no other reason. Use it for the intended purpose, and then go home and surf until your bloody eyes melt.
well get this the reason most schools don't just block it is because the teachers go on itChibz said:
OT: My school has weekly "repairs" for the computers they block a new feature of Os10 every week (note we have a library which used to be for playing halo demo lan matches at lunch but now its for homework
Pretty common as far as it goes here in Australia. They do it at my little brothers school and did it when i was in school, most of my friends from other schools could say the same. (though i speak only from a perspective of private education, they may not do it in the public system).
They of course shouldn't just be browsing thru private data as a matter of course, but in the end, if they're allowing people onto their network, they're legally responsible for what you do. (At least according to my ISP in the UK, if someone downloads stuff thru my connection, I'm liable for not securing it.
Really, your best option is getting a USB dongle, and paying for your own internet if you want freedom.
Really, your best option is getting a USB dongle, and paying for your own internet if you want freedom.
The school is not required to allow students to bring their own hardware, nor is it required to allow students to access the internet with that hardware if it is brought. The school can install whatever monitoring measures it likes on its own hardware--and there are plenty of valid instructional uses for that sort of desktop viewing, anyhow. We also have not been told whether this software is for desktop viewing or desktop control, though neither are wrong on school computers.Uriel-238 said:
If you're intending to use your own equipment on their network, they can provide certain requirements. In every school I know, those requirements are sent to the parents as an "Acceptable Use Agreement." That's right--to the parents. If those requirements are agreed to, the school isn't forcing anything. They're offering conditional service.
Another place that offers similarly conditional service? Public pools. Lifeguards ensure you are behaving properly during your time there, and if you aren't you're ejected. Maybe you're running, maybe you're fighting, maybe you're naked--either way, the lifeguard monitors for that and sends you packing. Yet no one is accusing lifeguards of violating privacy.
Heck our school and doesn't ask, ours go's one step further and doesn't ask you they just detect what traffic is coming though there "hubs" and block whatever they don't like via firewall.
also your school doesnt have to give peoples computers acess to the internet in the first place, my school doesnt and only school computers can go online, and websites like youtube and facebook are blocked but teachers have special acounts and can go on any website they want.
my school is worse: they set up a Facebook account and add people from the school to see if they post anything related to/during school.
OT: they're allowed to, i believe.
OT: they're allowed to, i believe.
Why don't they just block the pagess that they don't want you accessing? Seems pretty hurr durr on their part. I would get pissed off if a teacher kept looking over my sholder and seeing what I was doing...
Anytime you don't own the service you are using you are bound by the rules of the person who does own it. This is normal and you should get over it because your going to be monitored at work later in life too.
This happened during my schooling, whilst at High School and in 6th Form College (Ages 15-18) and there was a rather lengthy debate about it and then after that failed to solve the issue the rest of the years were spent combating the system admin for the school, who was a dubious character before this altercation started.
Now in my eyes, and I admit I am not fully versed in technology or privacy laws but will argue from precedent, that they are obviously allowed to monitor traffic on their network, however this is not the same as monitoring what you do on your laptop, there is this line of ownership there.
If it is merely a screen watching program or service, then it is allowable but still immoral as there should be a teacher there in the room who can perform that function and no back-tracing to the computer in question should be allowed as that is often interpreted as hacking especially if done covertly. Most schools have this installed on their own computers but there should be no obligation to install it on yours.
On the other hand, if the system is actually looking through your files, processes and applications whilst on the system, so it is controlling instead of viewing then it is illegal as that is your property and they need your permission just like you need theirs to save and access on their network.
Although I will say there is no need to access porn from school, but flash games at lunch are hardly going to forfeit your entire year of learning, there needs to be a bit more moderation in terms of enforcing rules and regulations like all things in past years when people were allowed to make an honest mistake and not get crucified for it then they often learned from it and were thankful, but now if people are punished for minor infringements they often end up doing it again to "get back" at the enforcers.
Sorry if I'm not adding much to people's thoughts but just trying to condense the argument against.
Now in my eyes, and I admit I am not fully versed in technology or privacy laws but will argue from precedent, that they are obviously allowed to monitor traffic on their network, however this is not the same as monitoring what you do on your laptop, there is this line of ownership there.
If it is merely a screen watching program or service, then it is allowable but still immoral as there should be a teacher there in the room who can perform that function and no back-tracing to the computer in question should be allowed as that is often interpreted as hacking especially if done covertly. Most schools have this installed on their own computers but there should be no obligation to install it on yours.
On the other hand, if the system is actually looking through your files, processes and applications whilst on the system, so it is controlling instead of viewing then it is illegal as that is your property and they need your permission just like you need theirs to save and access on their network.
Although I will say there is no need to access porn from school, but flash games at lunch are hardly going to forfeit your entire year of learning, there needs to be a bit more moderation in terms of enforcing rules and regulations like all things in past years when people were allowed to make an honest mistake and not get crucified for it then they often learned from it and were thankful, but now if people are punished for minor infringements they often end up doing it again to "get back" at the enforcers.
Sorry if I'm not adding much to people's thoughts but just trying to condense the argument against.