Software solutions to stop hardware vandalism?

[Gorbyhail]

Hi - first post here!

 

I'm aware this is an incredibly general request, but it's been something that my colleagues and I have discussed a couple times and I wanted to get some outside opinions. How do you prevent hardware vandalism/damage on the software and general administration side of things (eg AUP, recording when pupils use machines, keeping close track of when damage occurs etc).

 

I apologise again for the very poorly worded question - to put it a simpler way, how can we prevent/limit vandalism or damage to hardware in ways other than direct physical protection, which is essentially unworkable here for various reasons.

[jthompson]

We have logon/logoff scripts that timestamp usernames and computer names to log files. That gives a record of when and where each user logs in and out of machines. When vandalism occurs, the class teachers or heads of faculty can make use of those to help identify students that they wish to interrogate.

 

It relies on having supportive staff who will chase issues down to get to the truth of things.

[Liam]

We just use impero logs generally. If we can see the computer was used ‘properly’ the lesson earlier then we can usually pin point the culprit. That said- we often just get ‘it wasn’t me it must have been my mate’ and it’s difficult to prove otherwise. I know we ask them to sign aups etc but unless the teachers take responsibility I have accepted I’m fighting a losing battle.. I’ll go into work tomorrow to another ten laptops with broken keys no doubt!

[Wubbalubbadub]

More on the prevent side: In my experience I have found that “clean” hardware is better looked after. I make a real point in replacing any keyboard / mouse that even has one key missing or keys coloured in.. it gives the impression that it’s “new” and “looked after” in turn this has meant our vandalism has been very limited.

 

I have a set of laptops that are falling apart (not much I can do about them), as such they vandalise that set of laptops. I’m making a point of letting them destroy them until there are not any left...

Edited May 8, 2018 by Wubbalubbadub

[SamanthaD]

I found the only real deterrent is CCTV. Logging user activity is fine, but who's to say passwords haven't been swapped (or found out), or a pupil has carelessly wandered off to collect some printing and left their machine unlocked?

 

I had one incident where a pupil had accessed a porn site not filtered by SWGfL. Pupil didn't know anything about it. Checked the CCTV, he had turned his back while putting his coat on at the end of the lesson and the boy behind him had literally gone behind his back and used his machine. 20 seconds was all it took!

 

Also used to find the "wasn't me" argument soon disappears when you show them the footage. Especially if their parents are at the meeting too....

[jthompson]

More on the prevent side: In my experience I have found that “clean” hardware is better looked after. I make a real point in replacing any keyboard / mouse that even has one key missing or keys coloured in.. it gives the impression that it’s “new” and “looked after” in turn this has meant our vandalism has been very limited.

 

I have a set of laptops that are falling apart (not much I can do about them), as such they vandalise that set of laptops. I’m making a point of letting them destroy them until there are not any left...

 

We refer to that here as the broken windows theory. It seems particularly true with keys missing from laptop keyboards.

[Gorbyhail]

Thanks for all the responses thus far - some really good advice from the point of view of a junior technician looking to make his own job a little easier!

 

We have logon/logoff scripts that timestamp usernames and computer names to log files. That gives a record of when and where each user logs in and out of machines. When vandalism occurs, the class teachers or heads of faculty can make use of those to help identify students that they wish to interrogate.

 

It relies on having supportive staff who will chase issues down to get to the truth of things.

I like the idea of having a timestamped user log for each machine, it would definitely help catch the worst culprits (assuming the teachers are interested in doing so). I'm going to look into this more as it could well be something we already have access to.

 

 

We just use impero logs generally. If we can see the computer was used ‘properly’ the lesson earlier then we can usually pin point the culprit. That said- we often just get ‘it wasn’t me it must have been my mate’ and it’s difficult to prove otherwise. I know we ask them to sign aups etc but unless the teachers take responsibility I have accepted I’m fighting a losing battle.. I’ll go into work tomorrow to another ten laptops with broken keys no doubt!

Unfortunately we don't use impero here, but instead a litany of systems including RM CC4, which may well have detailed logs somewhere. Making a note of when all the computers/peripherals are in a pleasing state and then when they are not has been an idea thrown around, but given how spread out all the computer rooms are, it would be a bit of a nightmare. Some rooms are a lot worse than others though, so perhaps it is still something we will do.

 

 

More on the prevent side: In my experience I have found that “clean” hardware is better looked after. I make a real point in replacing any keyboard / mouse that even has one key missing or keys coloured in.. it gives the impression that it’s “new” and “looked after” in turn this has meant our vandalism has been very limited.

 

I have a set of laptops that are falling apart (not much I can do about them), as such they vandalise that set of laptops. I’m making a point of letting them destroy them until there are not any left...

 

 

This is mainly my responsibility and I do try to keep things as nice as possible but won't always replace an entire keyboard because of a single key (unless specifically asked). I do try and find spare keys for them however, but it all feels very futile when within a few days the whole thing will be thrown out because some kid decided that collecting space bars is a good career choice.

 

 

I found the only real deterrent is CCTV. Logging user activity is fine, but who's to say passwords haven't been swapped (or found out), or a pupil has carelessly wandered off to collect some printing and left their machine unlocked?

 

I had one incident where a pupil had accessed a porn site not filtered by SWGfL. Pupil didn't know anything about it. Checked the CCTV, he had turned his back while putting his coat on at the end of the lesson and the boy behind him had literally gone behind his back and used his machine. 20 seconds was all it took!

 

Also used to find the "wasn't me" argument soon disappears when you show them the footage. Especially if their parents are at the meeting too....

 

This would be great... assuming I had access. As far as I'm aware only the Facilities Manager is allowed to access the footage freely, and anyone else who wishes to do so must watch it in his office supervised by him. If I can pinpoint the time when the vandalism happens then this would be a valid solution, but would probably be out of my hands at that point, up into the arms of senior leadership who I admit have a million better things to do than chase up those with a fetish for rearranging qwerty keyboards into abcd ones.

[jthompson]

I like the idea of having a timestamped user log for each machine, it would definitely help catch the worst culprits (assuming the teachers are interested in doing so). I'm going to look into this more as it could well be something we already have access to.

A timestamped computer log for each user alongside that is useful too: you can look at a particular user and see where and when they have logged on/off. Good for seeing whether an account is being shared/pranked.

[mavhc]

This would be great... assuming I had access. As far as I'm aware only the Facilities Manager is allowed to access the footage freely, and anyone else who wishes to do so must watch it in his office supervised by him. If I can pinpoint the time when the vandalism happens then this would be a valid solution, but would probably be out of my hands at that point, up into the arms of senior leadership who I admit have a million better things to do than chase up those with a fetish for rearranging qwerty keyboards into abcd ones.

 

At the point you'd have to talk to SMT: Hello, I'm spending 10 hours per week and £50 replacing hardware, do you want to alter your CCTV policies so I can find out who did it, or continue to pay for the waste of time and money?

[Farloch]

At one of my previous schools we used Impero to enforce the AUP and log login/logout timestamps. We also backed this up with a separate CCTV system in the ICT suites which was piped directly to the IT office so the IT team could pull any footage on demand. Regular sweeps of the rooms between lessons also helped pinpoint when vandalism had occurred. We managed to get the teachers on board with checking the rooms before and after their lessons and this combination proved a very effective deterrent. Kids still tried it on but they didn't generally get away with it.

[MkII]

It's very easy with cctv to pinpoint vandalism/ theft if the object is in view, working inwards from the before and after scenes.

 

I've just emailed around to staff a picture of a mouse theft. A bit dodgy but I thought I'd get it in before GDPR kicks in. Mainly to wake staff up to the fact that I'm on to them lol

[Gorbyhail]

It's very easy with cctv to pinpoint vandalism/ theft if the object is in view, working inwards from the before and after scenes.

 

I've just emailed around to staff a picture of a mouse theft. A bit dodgy but I thought I'd get it in before GDPR kicks in. Mainly to wake staff up to the fact that I'm on to them lol

 

At the point you'd have to talk to SMT: Hello, I'm spending 10 hours per week and £50 replacing hardware, do you want to alter your CCTV policies so I can find out who did it, or continue to pay for the waste of time and money?

 

Haha, I only wish I had the nerve to say that, but alas I would feel far too bad and/or a little bit pathetic. Chances are I could just pass along where and when I know some vandalism occurred so that the appropriate footage could be sent back to me. Hopefully (or not). Either way, I will try and bring up to my team the fact that having access to even just the CCTV in the computer rooms would make preventing this sort of damage a lot easier.

 

 

 

At one of my previous schools we used Impero to enforce the AUP and log login/logout timestamps. We also backed this up with a separate CCTV system in the ICT suites which was piped directly to the IT office so the IT team could pull any footage on demand. Regular sweeps of the rooms between lessons also helped pinpoint when vandalism had occurred. We managed to get the teachers on board with checking the rooms before and after their lessons and this combination proved a very effective deterrent. Kids still tried it on but they didn't generally get away with it.

 

I have looked into this as someone else suggested it and we do in fact have user logs for every PC in the school! They don't show logouts, but even just knowing where and when each person logs on is a good place to start with catching the worst offenders.

[mavhc]

Haha, I only wish I had the nerve to say that, but alas I would feel far too bad and/or a little bit pathetic. Chances are I could just pass along where and when I know some vandalism occurred so that the appropriate footage could be sent back to me. Hopefully (or not). Either way, I will try and bring up to my team the fact that having access to even just the CCTV in the computer rooms would make preventing this sort of damage a lot easier.

 

I know it's a bit tricky, but it's basically your job to bring them two options, and their job to pick, do you want to change the policy or continue to spend money? Or invent a 3rd option you've not considered.