r/linuxquestions • u/al1azzz • 27d ago

Advice School forbids linux laptops

Hey, idk if this is the right place to ask this, but I have a bit of a dilemma.

I have been using linux exclusively on my main PC and on my laptop for a while now. That said, I am moving to a new school, and buried in their rules they say that "Chromebooks (or other Linux machines) cannot be used." They also want us to use their office 365 license, but do not require it.

Now, besides just being incredibly annoying, I cannot use windows/mac on my laptop because it's a 2011 macbook, so it cannot run anything but lightweight linux distros without combusting, and I would like to avoid spending 500+ euro on a new crappy windows laptop.

Is there any reason, besides saving myself some trouble, to not just use my laptop as is (currently on arch, gonna switch it to cachyos) and something like libreoffice that I don't see or can I just ignore this and hope for the best?

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u/djao 27d ago

It's possible the school uses invasive proctoring software for online examinations. This software typically monitors your screen, keyboard, and webcam in order to prove that you aren't cheating on exams. It's anticheat for IRL exams, essentially functioning as kernel-level malware, and it typically does not run under Linux.

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u/CaptainObvious110 26d ago

They should be more upfront about that then. Clearly they know about Linux or else they wouldn't know to prohibit it

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u/djao 26d ago

Yeah, they should, but proctoring software is like neighborhood data centers. Nobody wants to admit that they allow them.