[quote]PHILADELPHIA: A suburban Philadelphia school district accused of secretly switching on laptop computer webcams inside students' homes says it never used webcam images to monitor or discipline students.
It believes one of its administrators has been ''unfairly portrayed and unjustly attacked''.
The Lower Merion School District, in response to a lawsuit filed by a student, has acknowledged that webcams were remotely activated 42 times in the past 14 months, but only to find missing, lost or stolen laptops.
This would include ''a loaner computer that, against regulations, might be taken off campus''.
In a statement on the district's website, superintendent Christopher McGinley said: ''Despite some reports to the contrary, be assured that the security-tracking software has been completely disabled.''
Officials promised a comprehensive review that Mr McGinley said should result in stronger privacy policies.
A Harriton High School student, Blake Robbins, and his parents, Michael and Holly Robbins, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Tuesday against the district, its board of directors and Mr McGinley.
They accused the school of turning on the webcam in his computer while it was inside their Penn Valley home, which they allege violated wiretapping laws and his right to privacy.
The suit, which seeks class-action status, alleges that Harriton vice-principal Lindy Matsko on November 11 cited a laptop photo in telling Blake Robbins that the school thought he was engaging in improper behaviour. He and his family have told reporters that an official mistook a piece of lolly for a pill and thought he was selling drugs.
''We believe that the administrator at Harriton has been unfairly portrayed and unjustly attacked in connection with her attempts to be supportive of a student and his family,'' the statement on the Lower Merion School District site said. ''The district never did and never would use such tactics as a basis for disciplinary action.''
Lower Merion, an affluent district in Philadelphia's suburbs, issues laptops to all 2300 students at its two high schools.
Only two employees in the technology department, not administrators, were authorised to activate the cameras, which captured still images but not sound, officials said.
''While certain rules for laptop use were spelled out … there was no explicit notification that the laptop contained the security software,'' Mr McGinley said. ''This notice should have been given, and we regret that was not done.''
The district's website said 42 activations of the system resulted in the recovery of 18 computers, not 28 as a district spokesman, Doug Young, had said earlier. They reiterated that it was done only to locate lost, stolen or missing laptops.[/quote]
[URL="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/i-spy-school-denies-using-webcams-to-keep-watch-on-students-20100221-oo0e.html"]http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/i-spy-school-denies-using-webcams-to-keep-watch-on-students-20100221-oo0e.html[/URL]
Go new world power!
Oh wait.. Shit go communism!
[QUOTE=Best4bond;20341955]
Oh wait.. Shit go communism![/QUOTE]
Congratulations, you have no idea what communism is.
also clock.
How could you miss the thread right underneath this one
There's another thread about this
[QUOTE=Best4bond;20341955][URL="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/i-spy-school-denies-using-webcams-to-keep-watch-on-students-20100221-oo0e.html"]http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/i-spy-school-denies-using-webcams-to-keep-watch-on-students-20100221-oo0e.html[/URL]
Go new world power!
Oh wait.. Shit go communism![/QUOTE]
This relates to communism how? It could be seen as the US heading towards a Dystopia (Over the top surveillance), but not communism.
[url]http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=897041[/url]
Yeah, search button next time, please.
The correct term is "increasingly socialist".
[QUOTE=Boba_Fett;20342637]The correct term is "increasingly socialist".[/QUOTE]
Actually, this might be described as "Orwellian" but there's nothing socialist about it.
I didn't know whether to rate this box or clock.
[QUOTE=arienh4;20343602]Actually, this might be described as "Orwellian" but there's nothing socialist about it.[/QUOTE]
Or it would more accurately be totalitarianism.
[QUOTE=Boba_Fett;20342637]The correct term is "increasingly socialist".[/QUOTE]
Do you even know what socialism is?
What do creepy teachers have to do with the government owning the means of production?
[editline]11:20AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Moltz;20343894]Or it would more accurately be totalitarianism.[/QUOTE]
It's not that either. Totalitarianism would be if they forced the kids to have the laptops and keep them on like a telescreen.
[QUOTE=NotMeh;20341966]Congratulations, you have no idea what communism is.
[/QUOTE]
What are you talking about?
[quote]com·mu·nism
   /ˈkɒmyəˌnɪzəm/ Show Spelled[kom-yuh-niz-uhm] Show IPA
–noun
1.
a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribedto the community as a whole or to the state.
2.
(often initial capital letter) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominatedby a single and self-perpetuating political party.
3.
(initial capital letter) the principles and practices of the Communist party.
4.
communalism.
5.
when schools spy on their students using laptops.
[/quote]
My cousin got in trouble with her PUBLIC school because she posted a picture of her flipping off the camera with a caption that says fuck you on her facebook and flickr.
Why does that school care?
[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;20343947]Do you even know what socialism is?
What do creepy teachers have to do with the government owning the means of production?
[editline]11:20AM[/editline]
It's not that either. Totalitarianism would be if they forced the kids to have the laptops and keep them on like a telescreen.[/QUOTE]
Well, they probably force the kids to use the laptops for homework and such. And who's to say whether it's recording when it's off? Notebooks do have batteries.
[QUOTE=ProboardslolV2;20344013]My cousin got in trouble with her PUBLIC school because she posted a picture of her flipping off the camera with a caption that says fuck you on her facebook and flickr.
Why does that school care?[/QUOTE]
Because that means she might be a terrorist who hates freedom and also the finger is the symbol of anticapitalism and commies
Clocks all around
[QUOTE=arienh4;20345597]Well, they probably force the kids to use the laptops for homework and such. And who's to say whether it's recording when it's off? Notebooks do have batteries.[/QUOTE]
You can just make a new partition and install another copy of windows.
[QUOTE=sloppy_joes;20350586]You can just make a new partition and install another copy of windows.[/QUOTE]
Forcing them to do their homework on the laptops means there's some kind of software on it that they need. Also, under ideal circumstances they wouldn't even know.
[QUOTE=arienh4;20351670]Forcing them to do their homework on the laptops means there's some kind of software on it that they need. Also, under ideal circumstances they wouldn't even know.[/QUOTE]
You can just install another NT-based OS and just run the programs off the other partition.
Assuming you find a way to do all the registry keys right.
I'm sure there's a way to get the programs you need on your partition if that doesn't work.
commies
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