Avoiding School Spyware With Dual-Boot

[OMNI]

I am switching to a school that will require my laptop to have monitoring software on it. here is a link to some of the software they might be using:http://schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Screen_Monitoring

EDIT: If I had two installed copies of windows in a dual boot setup: Windows-A and Windows-B where
- Windows-A is the copy the school has access to.
- Windows-B is the copy I use to hold my sensitive files and browse zoklet type places.
- Is Windows-B secure from Windows-A or Can the school access the files in Windows-B?

[Loophole]

Why the fuck are you switching to such a school?

[OMNI]

Originally Posted by Ivan "Fuck Zordon" Ooze

Why the fuck are you switching to such a school?

Because its a great school, other than the monitoring.
Please contribute to the topic. I couldn't find a topic with the info that I needed when I searched through the old threads.

Any help is welcome, the software gets installed on Wednesday morning on the 18.

[Loophole]

Switch to Linux, then they wont be able to install it.

[matt110]

Originally Posted by Ivan "Fuck Zordon" Ooze

Switch to Linux, then they wont be able to install it.

This.

[totse]

Make 2 separate partitions on your HD. Clean and dirty. Identify the processes tied to the monitoring software once its installed and make sure they don't show up when you boot the dirty partition.

[13579]

1. Switch to Linux.

2. Find a legal hole to prevent them from installing such spyware. It isn't their laptop. What business do they have snooping through your private property?

3. Find good ways to fuck with them if you end up going for the monitoring.

Personally, I would never attend such a school with such a disregard for privacy and personal property. What the hell are they going to do if I bring a laptop without their spyware? How would they know? What prevents you from bringing two laptops, one with a clean install of windows as a decoy, registered as yours, that you never use.

[Mutant Funk Drink]

My guess is that they will probably be able to see the second windows installation since there's nothing stopping the first installation from mounting the partition that the other windows resides on. You could probably use some kind of encryption scheme. Truecrypt would probably work just fine. My only concern would be what they would do if they see that you have two windows installations in your boot menu.

[Amie]

You should keep a live linux distro on a thumbdrive and use that for your private browsing. That way you can use it on any computer, not just yours. Dualboot will also work perfectly fine.

[Raziel]

Virtual machine! Seriously that's the best option in my opinion.

[Raziel]

http://www.vmware.com/support/ws55/d...ple_steps.html

[OMNI]

Originally Posted by totse

Make 2 separate partitions on your HD. Clean and dirty. Identify the processes tied to the monitoring software once its installed and make sure they don't show up when you boot the dirty partition.

Is that a guaranteed way of blocking them off?

Originally Posted by Ivan "Fuck Zordon" Ooze

Switch to Linux, then they wont be able to install it.

I would, but it definitely has to be installed. I don't have time to look for a legal loophole, so I need to let them think that they have total access.

Originally Posted by Ra "Fuck this shit" ziel

http://www.vmware.com/support/ws55/d...ple_steps.html

I don't understand your exact idea for using virtual machine. Please explain your idea and the possibilities of VM.

[The Cheshire Cat]

NIDS/HIDS and make rules for it. Just because it's on your system doesn't mean anything. Once it's installed, you can monitor your traffic and system to figure out what rules to apply to keep anyone from connecting to your laptop, or said program from calling home.


First off though, did you sign a contract for this school? Is there anything in that contract that says anything about agreeing to having such software installed on your computer? I would check that first. If there is nothing in there about them using such programs to monitor you then...

Title I of the ECPA protects wire, oral, and electronic communications while in transit. It sets down requirements for search warrants that are more stringent than in other settings. Title II of the ECPA, the Stored Communications Act (SCA) protects communication held in electronic storage, most notably messages stored on computers. Its protections are weaker than those of Title I, however, and do not impose heightened standards for warrants. Title III prohibits the use of pen register and/or trap and trace devices to record dialing, routing, addressing, and signalling information used in the process of transmitting wire or electronic communications without a search warrant.

Throw that in their face. Honestly, I'd throw that in their face anyways, even if you did sign some ambiguous contract with vague indications of what is to be done with personal computers.

[OMNI]

Originally Posted by The Cheshire Cat

NIDS/HIDS and make rules for it. Just because it's on your system doesn't mean anything. Once it's installed, you can monitor your traffic and system to figure out what rules to apply to keep anyone from connecting to your laptop, or said program from calling home.

Sounds good. What NIDS/HIDS programs would you recommend? And if I have any issues setting it up can I go to you for help?

Originally Posted by The Cheshire Cat

First off though, did you sign a contract for this school? Is there anything in that contract that says anything about agreeing to having such software installed on your computer? I would check that first. If there is nothing in there about them using such programs to monitor you then...

Let me clarify something, The school really wanted me to attend. They didn't even wait for official documents from the last school, a few photocopies and an interview sufficed. I'm not trying to brag, my point is that I can have a good relationship with the school or I can ruin it before the semester starts. As long as they think it's the IT guy's fault or a problem with the software, they won't care if it doesn't work.

Originally Posted by The Cheshire Cat

Throw that in their face. Honestly, I'd throw that in their face anyways, even if you did sign some ambiguous contract with vague indications of what is to be done with personal computers.

I'll save any legal print for a civil/criminal case, better not to tell them if they don't already know. Also, you just gave me a fantastic idea that I have to a lawyer and a scientist about.

[T.K. Baha]

Yeah thats some Nazi shit. I would tell them to get fucked. And what the hell kind of school is it? None of the colleges here do anything like that.

[The Cheshire Cat]

Originally Posted by OMNI

Sounds good. What NIDS/HIDS programs would you recommend? And if I have any issues setting it up can I go to you for help?


Let me clarify something, The school really wanted me to attend. They didn't even wait for official documents from the last school, a few photocopies and an interview sufficed. I'm not trying to brag, my point is that I can have a good relationship with the school or I can ruin it before the semester starts. As long as they think it's the IT guy's fault or a problem with the software, they won't care if it doesn't work.

I'll save any legal print for a civil/criminal case, better not to tell them if they don't already know. Also, you just gave me a fantastic idea that I have to a lawyer and a scientist about.

Snort is a great NIDS with quite good support and is completely open source. I have yet to try OSSEC for HIDS, but it's open source so it should be pretty good.

http://www.ossec.net/ HIDS
http://www.snort.org/ NIDS

I'll download these both and get comfortable with them again, and I'm quite sure if you have a problem with them, either myself or other members would be happy to help.

[The Cheshire Cat]

Since OSSEC is kind of a pain to set up, I'm going to help you out and just post the link here to setting it up.

http://www.ossec.net/main/manual/man...e_agents-tool/

[AngryOnion]

Maybe run a linux live disk?

[OMNI]

Originally Posted by The Cheshire Cat

Since OSSEC is kind of a pain to set up, I'm going to help you out and just post the link here to setting it up.

http://www.ossec.net/main/manual/man...e_agents-tool/

I'm not sure I understand exactly what roles 'snort' and OSSEC fill in disrupting the school's software's operation. The docs on the snort and OSSEC websites aren't getting me there. I get that programs send information between each other on a network by using packets. I also get that by tracking which packets get sent by which programs you can adapt the connection so that the program fails to transmit and recieve data, thus severing the connection. I just don't get what the difference is between OSSEC, Snort, and my Security software's firewall. sorry for being needy.

Originally Posted by angryonion

Maybe run a linux live disk?

That is my fallback plan in case I can't access files or browse the interwebz without my actions being detected.

[OMNI]

Bump, for urgency. Everything has to be set up tonight.

[Jesus of Nazareth]

Have them set that shit up on a trash laptop, use it for only word docs, basically some 30$ POS from a pawn shop.

[Amie]

Let them install whatever they want, then, after that, make a second partition and install whatever OS you want on the second partition. Good to go, no way they can track that, and they won't mess with the second OS when they're installing their shit because it isn't there yet.

Resizing your windows partition and making a second partition is done very easy with GParted, which comes with most linux live discs. Systemrescuecd is a good example.

[Raziel]

Originally Posted by OMNI

I don't understand your exact idea for using virtual machine. Please explain your idea and the possibilities of VM.

Not sure if I'm too late but,

The basic idea is that you have you main operating system in which you do whatever you want without being spied on. And in the operating system you run a VM host like Microsoft Virtual PC (It's free) http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/ . Install an operating system in that virtual machine and in that operating system you install their spyware. And use that operating system when doing legit stuff.

Another advantage of Virtual machines is that your school won't be able to see your other operating system on your hard-drive.

[Raziel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH7-NcElGhA

[Raziel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S28S...eature=related

[v0x]

Hey what eventually happened with this? One of those ideas had to have worked out...