Safe Exam Browser MacOSX |
English Deutsch |
Safe Exam Browser – SEB for Mac OS X opens a web browser window without navigation elements and locks the computer into a kiosk mode, which prevents switching to other applications or quitting SEB untimely. Currently SEB directly supports the wide spread learning management systems Moodle and ILIAS, although it can easily be connected with most other web-based online quiz and e-assessement systems.
Features
SEB disables the OS X Dock, the process switcher (cmd+Tab/cmd+Shift+Tab), menu bar, the Force Quit window (cmd+opt+esc), normal reboot (ctrl+cmd+eject), normal shutdown (ctrl+opt+cmd+eject), hiding the application, printing and Exposé. Display and system idle sleep is also prevented while SEB is running. It can also be set whether users can quit SEB and if it is required to enter a quit password to do so.
In the browser window there is no right mouse (or ctrl-) click popup window available, links requesting to be opened in a separate window can be set to be blocked generally, to open in the same browser window or in a new SEB window. Besides that, the browser is supporting Quicktime, Java and Flash content (as long as the required Flash plugin is installed on the system). Hyperlinks and links embedded in Javascript, in Flash and other plugins requesting to open in a new window can optionally be ignored when they link to another host than the one of the current page.
SEB detects when it was started in a virtual instead of a native environment and refuses to run. This virtual machine detector hinders manipulating SEB further when used in unmanaged environments.
SEB MacOSX is based on the WebKit browser engine, which is also used by Safari, Apple Mail and many open source browsers like Google Chrome (in contrast to the Mozilla Firefox/XULRunner/Gecko engine used by SEB for Windows). There are some small differences and issues regarding rendering of web pages and some content in ILIAS and Moodle, so you should check all functionality of your quiz in SEB MacOSX before using it in exams.
SEB MacOSX can be used together with additional (third party) applications during an exam. You can download and open files linked in your online exam, edit it in a third party application and then upload the results to your online quiz/LMS again. For this case and high security use in exams, the current version of SEB MacOSX should be used in a managed environment. See below under which circumstances you can achieve a quite secure environment.
Download/Installation
You can download the DMG disk image file here. If it doesn't get mounted, just double click on the downloaded file. Then you can drag the SEB application to the Application Folder or any other location on your computer. It is also possible to run SEB directly from the mounted disk image or from a network volume.
Starting and Quitting SEB
When you start SEB, all currently running applications are hidden and all attached screens are covered with a black background. On the main screen SEB opens its web browser window filling the whole screen (the window can be resized and moved nevertheless). SEB opens the webpage at the preset Start URL, which might take some seconds. As default, as long as you don't set another Start URL (see Configuration), SEB MacOSX opens the project web site displaying this documentation. Also a window will be displayed about how to quit SEB and how to access preferences as long as you don't change some settings in preferences.
SEB doesn't have any navigation buttons, but if this has been enabled, you can use cmd+Cursor Left to go back in the browser history and cmd+Cursor Right to go forward in history. Cmd+R reloads the current page.
To quit SEB (while it's using the default settings), just press cmd+Q or the red close button in the browser window. Quitting SEB can be switched off or password protected in the Preferences window. When SEB quits, the applications which were visible before starting it will get unhidden again.
Configuration
SEB MacOSX has a comfortable preferences window build in which can be used for configuring SEB. After you start SEB, press the F3 and F6 keys (on modern Mac keyboards you also have to hold the fn key). Disclaimer: The manual below is not yet updated to reflect the current SEB version 1.5.
In the preferences window you can set the following parameters:
Settings in General Pane
- Start URL: Full URL (starting with http:// or https://) of the page to open when SEB is started.
- Administrator password: Password required to enter the preferences window. It's recommended to set one!
- Confirm administrator password: Retype the administrator password. As long as it's not matching the administrator password typed in the field above, Passwords don't match is displayed below and you cannot save the preferences.
- Allow user to quit SEB: If selected, Users can quit SEB with cmd+Q. Otherwise you can shutdown or reset the computer or use the Quit button in this preferences window. In a computer room in a university or school you could for example use some tool to shutdown or reboot all computers after a exam and therefore not allow students to quit SEB themselves at all.
- Quit password: This password is prompted when users try to quit SEB with cmd+Q or the red close button in the browser window. If no quit password is set, then SEB just prompts Are you sure you want to quit SEB?
- Confirm quit password: Retype the quit password. As long as it's not matching the quit password typed in the field above, Passwords don't match is displayed below and you cannot save the preferences.
- About: Shows a window with copyright information and the version number of the SEB you're running. Click somewhere into the window to close it.
- Help-Button "?": Displays this manual page in the browser window. Preferences stay open, if they get hidden behind the browser window, you can access them by pressing the same keys like mentioned before.
You can get out of the preferences windows using one of the three buttons below:
- Close window (standard control in the windows title bar): Accepts preferences and closes window. If you changed start URL, SEB will be restarted to display the new page.
- Restart SEB: Saves preferences and restarts SEB, displaying the webpage at start URL.
- Quit: Saves preferences and exits SEB.
Settings in Advanced Pane
- Allow to switch to third party applications: If this option is activated, the kiosk mode induced by SEB will be reduced one level. The process switcher (cmd+Tab) will work, so it's possible to switch to other running applications.
Use this option only when running SEB in a user account managed by parental controls, with only SEB and the desired applications allowed. Also you should switch on Simple Finder and don't give users access to other accounts with administrator rights on that computer (see Secure Environment). - Allow downloading and uploading files: Usually to be used when switching to third party applications is enabled.
- Save downloaded files to: Choose the download directory in this Popup menu.
- Open files after downloading: Downloaded files will be opened with the according application, which has to be set correctly in the system for each used file type!
SEB preferences are saved according to Mac OS X standards in the user's Library/Preferences/ directory. The file named org.safeexambrowser.Safe-Exam-Browser.plist is generated after you start SEB the first time, open preferences and save them. You can deploy this file to the user's Library/Preferences/ directories on other computers (for example in a computer room in a university or school) to get them opening the same Start URL and using the same passwords. Even though in this version of SEB the preferences file is partially encrypted, you should prevent users from accessing this file, see Secure Environment for Exams with SEB MacOSX. You can also edit this standard .plist-File using Apple Xcode.
Operating System
Mac OS X 10. 7 Lion or 10.6 Snow Leopard on 64 or 32-bit Intel Mac
On 32-bit Mac's (like the first generation of Intel Core Solo and Core Duo Mac Mini, MacBook and iMac) for security reasons web plugins are disabled .
Secure Environment for Exams with SEB MacOSX
As mentioned, it is more secure to use SEB MacOSX in a managed environment, for using third pary applications it's generally recommended. When you create a separate user account with the settings described below, you can achieve a really secure environment.
- Create a Standard or Managed with Parental Controls user account (System Preferences -> Accounts). For running third party applications together with SEB, you have to use an account managed by parental controls.
- You can add SEB to Login Items in the Account Preferences, then SEB will be started automatically after the exam user logs in.
- In Login Options you should uncheck the checkbox in front of Show fast user switching menu as, at least when the examinees have access to other accounts on that computer.
- If you use an account with parental controls and third party applications, you can set (System Preferences -> Parental Controls) the option Simple Finder and Only allow selected applications with only SEB and the desired third pary applications selected and in the Web tab Allow access to only these websites the URL to your LMS server.
- In System Preferences -> Sharing you should switch off everything, especially Screen Sharing, File Sharing, Remote Login, Remote Management and Internet Sharing. Or protect everything with proper passwords and don't give users administrator rights on that computer.
- Enable Open Firmware Password: The Open Firmware password is a security feature available on modern Macintosh systems. If you enable the Open Firmware password, the computer will execute a secure boot sequence. Specifically, enabling the Open Firmware password prevents users from starting up the computer from a volume other than the chosen as the startup disk (chosen in the Startup Disk preference panel within the System Preferences.) Also, enabling the Open Firmware Password prevents users from booting into single user mode using Command-S key combination at boot time. An administrator can enable the Open Firmware password using the Firmware Password Utility application that can be copied from the Mac OS X software installation disc (located at /Applications/Utilities/ on the disc, not visible in Finder, use the Terminal).
The Open Firmware Password will be reset if a user changes the amount of the physical memory in the machine and reboots. Systems which require Open Firmware Password level security need to be protected from users gaining physical access to the internals of the computer.
License
Safe Exam Browser MacOSX: © 2010-2012 Daniel R. Schneider, ETH Zurich, Educational Development and Technology (LET), based on the original idea of Safe Exam Browser by Stefan Schneider, University of Giessen
Project concept: Dr. Thomas Piendl, Daniel R. Schneider, Dr. Dirk Bauer, Karsten Burger, Marco Lehre, Brigitte Schmucki, Oliver Rahs. French localization: Nicolas Dunand
Source code: Released under the Mozilla Public License MPL 1.1
WebKit: BSD License Apple, LGPL 2.0/2.1This project has been carried out as part of the program "AAA/SWITCH – e-Infrastructure for e- Science” lead by SWITCH, the Swiss National Research and Education Network, and has been supported by funds from ETH Board.