Respondus Lockdown Browser & Respondus Monitor Privacy
- Mariann Hawken
- William Schneider
UMBC uses Respondus Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitor for exam proctoring:
Respondus LDB collects limited data.
Respondus Monitor, an optional add-on for the Lockdown Browser, will gather data as part of its work to evaluate exam security.
The Monitor application is designed to identify the user via multiple methods and only when the application is active. This monitoring is sometimes identified as malicious by antivirus vendors due to the nature of monitoring the end user. See → Is Respondus Lockdown Browser malware or malicious?
For example, the ability to monitor keystrokes – specifically the number of keystrokes being entered into a text field over time. This is how the system detects whether content is being pasted into a field, rather than typed in manually. That feature is sufficiently like "key logging" for more malicious purposes that some antivirus tools identify it as dangerous and may report it as malicious code to the computer’s owner.
Respondus Monitor does not have the ability to remote activate webcams, keyboard monitoring or microphones, nor does it have the ability to disable the visual use indicator on the webcam if equipped. As per Respondus, access to the video is limited to the instructor and/or the technical team monitoring and resolving issues with the service. Respondus personnel do not monitor live video.
Respondus works directly with security vendors to avoid this false positives and detections leading to alerts to you the end user. For more information about Respondus LDB and LDB with Monitor, you should review the privacy information provided by the Respondus company: