USB Drives Survey

[Sirbendy]

Our kids are OK with MP3s now...the script that erases them on the CCTV server every night made them give up. Now they just stay on the MP3 players.

 

However, we have 5 students who are devious little gits..portable web server on the USB pens, running a "proxify" script to bypass SWS security and filtering, and portable Firefox as a web browser instead of IE.

 

Seriously considering going "USB OFF" via GP, and having it only for teachers and IT Admin. That way the kids would have to come to us for work copying, giving me the chance to filter what's what.

 

It IS a pain, but it's also inventive...as you say, we'd have done this once..

[Geoff]

You might want to look at the software restriction policies in the GPO's and restrict where students can run software from.

 

On the whole though, by definition, you can't win an arms race.

[Sirbendy]

The NGFL have Lan Licenser waiting to roll, but it's an arse. It'd stop so much that we use..let alone the kids!

 

GPO alterations to knock out student USB/CD though is a definite possibility. It'd stop the MP3 players being loaded from here then too..

[Norphy]

That might be going a bit too far m8. Like Geoff suggests, using a software restriction policy (assuming you're running XP workstations) seems to be the better solution. At least then you can make the PCs only run stuff thats in the Windows or Program Files directories which can't be written to unless you have admin priviledges. Doubtless someone will find a way round it but at least it will stop them running executables and scripts from memory sticks and CDs but still let them transport work home.

[Zourous]

Keeping on the theme of the world of USB sticks, does anyone have a nice bit of script or a program that warns the user their USB stick is still inserted when they logout / shutdown the PC? Quite often here we build up a collection of sticks left behind, or we have the odd student who has forgotton their stick and someone else has nicked it for themselves.