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What’s a Chromebook?

Each summer, we handle a wide variety of Chromebook duties for area K-12 schools.  It may simply be the sale and delivery of new models, or may include setup and enrollment of new and/or existing models as well.  

Staff and students have reached a point in technology adoption that a Chromebook is a fairly familiar term in the classroom, and many research groups place the popularity of Chromebooks at over 50% of market-share of education devices in the US.

With large numbers in popularity and adoption, it is surprising that one of the top questions we receive from families and friends when they learn that we work with K-12 technology is “What exactly is a Chromebook?”  Read on; we’d love to explain!

What is a Chromebook?

A Chromebook is a laptop or tablet that runs Chrome Operating System (OS), instead of a more traditional Windows OS or Mac OS.  The Chrome OS was developed by Google, and is very similar to the Chrome web browser that you may use on your computer, phone or tablet.  

Chromebooks can be manufactured by various hardware vendors, including: Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer, Google and more.  The brands and models also vary widely in features and components, such as amount of RAM, processor speed, physical storage, Android integration, touchscreen capability, convertible designs/multi-mode, and more.  ITS sells a wide variety of brands and models, and encounters a wide variety of models when working with our schools.

A Chromebook is largely designed to work when connected to the internet, but some apps and tools will work offline.  Many communities also have public wi-fi available at local libraries, city/county offices and parks that students may connect to outside of school hours.

What Should I Know About My Student Using a Chromebook?

Durability

Many Chromebook models are made specifically for the education arena, and take extra care to reinforce hinges, utilize special keyboards to minimize missing keys, and bulk up corners to protect against accidental drop damage.  Lenovo, one of our most-often purchased Chromebooks, runs their models through a series of 12 tests generally reserved for military-grade equipment! 1:1 deployments of Chromebooks in K-12 schools typically require use of a specific school-issued bag/case, or require students to provide their own.  

We always recommend that schools develop a procedure and practice procedures with students to minimize accidental breakage.  Families should also develop and practice guidelines at home: How do I walk with my Chromebook? Where do I place my Chromebook when it is not in use? How to I organize my work surface when using my Chromebook alongside other supplies and tools? Where should I keep my charger and where/when am I allowed to charge my Chromebook?

We have seen it all, though: Chromebooks falling out and off of cars, Chromebooks lost at a track meet miles away from school, and Chromebooks closed with pencils and notebooks inside, breaking the hinges.  Generally, following protocol and procedures will help your student keep their Chromebook safe from damage, but Chromebooks can incur damage just like any other device. We do recommend that families understand their financial obligation and/or insurance options for Chromebook repairs and replacements before the school year starts.

Security and Safety

Content Filtering

By law, any school that accepts federal E-rate funding must have a content-filtering solution in place.  Content filtering prevents internet access to specific types of online material.  This may include pornography, online gambling, social media, etc. Websites are typically categorized (shopping, social media, news, etc) and the content filtering service uses these categories to make a network block/allow decision.  Depending on the content filtering solution that a school uses, the categories and specific sites blocked may vary for staff members vs. students, vary by age of student, or vary by student course enrollment. (For example, some High School courses may require students to access Craigslist, but that website may be blocked for all other students)  Learn more about the Children’s Internet Protection Act online.

Through several available tools, schools can also choose to apply these same content filtering rules on the school-owned devices, whether they are physically located at home, on the bus, or in the classroom.  Many of these “offsite-filtering” solutions do come with additional costs. There is no right or wrong answer regarding off-site filtering; some schools even offer this as an option to families and let them decide what is best for their home.  Again, content filtering options for schools include:

  1. Content Filter only at school
  2. Content Filter wherever the device travels
  3. Content Filter at school and offer content filtering at home

Viruses/Malware

We do see far less virus-type of issues on a Chromebook.  A couple qualities about a Chromebook cause them to be more friendly and reliable in this area.  Most notably, the style and technology of the Chrome OS does not allow executable files to be installed on the Chromebook.  Chromebooks also do not typically connect to a local server, the way that a Windows or Mac would connect to a domain or file server to share and access files. When a Windows or Mac on a school network checks into their local server, they are also able to infect the server and other connected machines.  Chromebooks generally do not connect to other networked resources in this way.

However, the Chromebook OS and Chrome browser can still be “hijacked” and installation of a bad app or extension can cause many virus-like issues.  Chromebooks may need to be wiped and reset from time-to-time, but current threats are not as prevalent on a Chromebook as they would be on a Mac or PC.  

Printing

Chromebooks can print, but many schools choose Chromebooks as a technology platform to eliminate the cost and burden of printing.  Students learn to edit and collaborate online with peers and teachers, instead of printing documents and waiting for teacher remarks.

If your student created an award-winning essay, a poem for the ages, or completed a college application and needs to print outside of school, documents can always be printed from home or a public library by simply logging into your Google Drive account on a machine running Mac OS or Windows and printing your desired file.

Privacy

Many schools use a privately-labeled version of Gmail for their school email platform.  This also gives students and staff access to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and more.  These tools provide cloud-based storage and tools for word processing, spreadsheet development and presentations.  Cloud-based storage means that student files and projects are stored online, not locally on the Chromebook.

Schools do own those Google accounts, and may have staff members with administrative access that can see account details about your student.  Staff members may be able to see when a document was created and edited, what IP address an email was sent from, or which apps your student has installed in their account.

Google may also collect data about students and staff through account usage, but does not serve advertisements to school accounts.  Learn more about Google’s Privacy Policy online.

Some schools purchase additional management and monitoring platforms, largely for teacher and classroom use.  These management tools allow teachers to see a thumbnail of all student machines at once to see who is engaged in the lesson or who is browsing the internet.  Teachers can also send web links and presentations to their entire class, guiding students through a lecture with multiple-modes of learning.

Schools generally have a technology policy and other supporting board policies to help you understand what data may be accessed/seen by school staff, and what expectations students should have of privacy.

Tools/Apps

Browser Based

Along with standard word processing, spreadsheets and presentation tools, both Google and third parties have developed apps that can be installed in the student’s Chrome session.  Many of these apps are also available when the student logs into a Chrome browser on a standard Windows or Mac machine as well. Some commonly used K-12 tools include: graphing calculators, movie editors, typing games, mind-mapping and graphic organizers, and more.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a commonly used tool, even in classrooms without Chromebooks.  You may already be familiar with this online component of Google Apps for Education.  Using Google Classroom, teachers can assign content, provide checks for understanding through quizzes and assignments, and provide links to related information in the form of articles, slideshows and videos.  Students logging in to Google Classroom will see what items they have completed, check grades and receive feedback from teachers.

App Store Concerns

Of course, not all apps and extensions released into the Chrome OS market are appropriate for K-12 students.  The app store contains games that are not helpful for skill-building, design themes that have the ability to “hack” your profile and make annoying tabs/windows populate, and apps that pop-up inappropriate advertisements. Schools do have the ability to modify access to the app store.  Access can be granted at varying levels, so different ages of learners can have different levels of access. App store access choices include:

  1. Allow all apps except those the school chooses to block
  2. Block all apps except those the school chooses to allow
  3. Block apps that engage in specific behaviors or access specific features/technologies.  For example, a school could block all apps that allow the student to modify their network settings.

Schools can also force-install apps, bookmarks, homescreens and other settings to maximize learning efficiency and make sure that students have access to the most-important tools when learning.

Robust App Features

The largest usability issue that remains with Chromebooks is the lack of onboard resources to run PLTW and GTT applications (Think: Autodesk and SketchUp). These applications generally require more RAM, dedicated video cards, and other features that are found in a beefier Windows machine.  Many schools that offer PLTW and GTT coursework also maintain a Windows lab or laptop cart to meet these program requirements.

Microsoft Office

Another question that cycles through Chromebook discussions regards Microsoft Office: do students need to have access to Microsoft Office and learn how to use Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) in order to succeed in future careers?  Studies as recent as 2013 still listed Microsoft Office as one of the top-requested skills in new hires.

We believe that students who learn how to learn will quickly pick-up the necessary Excel skills if they find themselves heading into a job that requires the use of Macros and Pivot tables.  Teachers and curriculum are able to guide students on a path of learning that introduces the same basic computing, troubleshooting and research skills that you would need in most future careers, and on most future devices.  However, we do also see fantastic HS business programs teaching Microsoft certification programs and maintaining a Windows lab specifically for that purpose. In our opinion, this is a local decision in which patrons and students must answer: is access to these tools and skills necessary for our future success?

Other Questions?

Ask your student, grandchild or neighbor kid if their school uses Chromebooks: chances are great that they have used a Chromebook and have an opinion about the product and technology.  Otherwise, drop us a line – we would love to hear from you: info@iowadatacenters.com

 

Facebook Privacy

One topic we always include in our security conversations with clients, even though it may not be business-focused, is social media privacy.

We remind users to take a look at who can see their data, which apps and services they share data with, and evaluate whether the sharing of their data could have negative implications.

Our next move is to pull up a screen shot of a facebook quiz and read aloud some of the questions: Where were you born? What is your pet’s name? What was your first car?

Aren’t these questions rather similar to your Apple ID security questions? Your bank, airline awards and other accounts may also use security questions as an authorization tool.  We encourage clients to scroll past opportunities to share trivial, historical details about their lives.  Participating in these quizzes and dialogues creates a lasting imprint of your data, and may actually archive your answers in online databases for future nefarious use.

If you have to use security questions, consider advice from security expert Brian Krebs.  You could answer them falsely, but keep the information handy, or answer them with abbreviations or misspellings that only you would know. (His article also has a great collection of quiz/comment screenshots from facebook, showing examples of when/where data can be mined)

Facebook is now starting to notify users if their data was shared with Cambridge Analytica.  Several news sources have instructions on how that notification will appear (at the top of your feed), and some sources go beyond this current breach to warn users of bad social media behavior in general.  We like this sentiment from Gizmodo:

If you or a friend ever took a “personality quiz” on Facebook, there’s a really good chance that you were a target of political operatives somewhere in the world. It may have been fun to find out which Disney princess you are, but all of those personality traits have been catalogued and monetized.

-Gizmodo, How to Check If Your Facebook Data Was Stolen by Cambridge Analytica

Beyond the over-sharing of PII (Personally Identifiable Information) through comments and quizzes, users should also reconsider the use of hashtags as a tracking tool, sharing your location/checking in when away from home, and clicking advertisements and posts that may carry malware or other cyber threats.

IoT: Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a growing mass of connected devices from cars to smartphones to wireless wearable products. Depending on who you listen to, IoT will reach either 26 billion or over 200 billion devices by 2020. Market size estimates convey a similar range, with experts predicting IoT will become a $1.9 trillion (Gartner), $7.1 trillion (IDC) or $19 trillion (Cisco) market by 2020. While the numbers vary, what’s clear is the exploding reach of IoT.

Big data: massive information received

For many organizations, the upside of IoT is the ability to collect millions of data points that can be used to solve real challenges, like predicting weather, protecting our borders, tracking assets and boosting efficiency. Agencies can use big data, machine learning and predictive analytics to mine the IoT data for actionable information that can forecast storms, monitor federal buildings, manage power grids, predict public health trends, improve logistics for military assets and much more.
IoT devices are also in-play in small sectors and homes, and while they provide convenience and oversight to these users, they also report data points back to the Cloud and global databases.

Security: a growing set of risks

The problem is that all of these connected IoT devices feed data into the internet. If unprotected, hackers could infiltrate the network and either steal data, or if sophisticated enough, take control of the devices or even the network itself.
Case in point: One recent news report highlighted the danger of what can go wrong, when a fitness tracking app posted their “global heatmap” and accidentally revealed secret U.S. military bases and CIA “black” sites around the world.
Home devices are also at risk: baby monitors, HVAC controllers, security cameras, and smart outlets/hubs have all been hacked recently; sometimes in the name of malicious fun, and on other attempts, to turn your IoT device into a bot that attacks other internet connected devices.
“The biggest risk of IoT devices is that, intrinsically, they’re poorly secured—and there are no security protocols that can be uniformly applied across all types of IoT devices,” said Tom Norman, technology consultant II (global security consultant) for Ingram Micro. “As they proliferate into ever-larger numbers of devices on systems, this becomes a bigger and bigger challenge. The risk of real physical harm, including the potential of fatalities in large numbers, is a real possibility with IoT devices as they exist on networks today.”

What can be done at the business/government level?

Consumers may feel a false sense of security when offered a government or business-backed IoT device or service, and may not look deeply into the security of the device and the storage.  If businesses and organizations are introducing a device to their consumers as part of a service, business and organizations should maintain security and best-practices:

  • Set strict controls: To limit security risk, IoT devices must be segregated and isolated within the network to only communicate with authorized devices and banned from communicating with anything other than a specific TCP/IP address or specific port on the network.
  • Partner carefully: On the IoT device level, work with reputable vendors that have placed stringent R&D efforts into securing their devices.
  • Take a holistic approach: Security is needed at the device level (where info is collected), the network level (how the info is sent) and also the cloud level (where the info is stored).
  • Have a holistic disaster recovery plan. Make sure you have a backup plan for data and physical assets.  If your data is breached and manipulated, you can restore from your good backup.
  • Get educated on blockchain (and how it can help secure data and limit exposure): Watch for innovative companies getting into blockchain, and be prepared to evaluate IoT solutions and products that use blockchain technology.

Security for Home Users

  • Password Safety: Always change the default password on devices.  Use a complex password that you don’t use on other devices/accounts.
  • Use a Pseudonym: when/if you name your device on the network, don’t user personal identifying information in the device name.  For example, don’t name your phone “Jane Doe’s iPhone” if your name is Jane Doe.  It is also a good idea to not include the exact model information in your device name when possible.
  • Protect Your Information: Be careful about the information you post regarding your IoT devices.  If you write an Amazon review, make sure your IP address and serial number isn’t shared.  If you show stats from your IoT devices on social media, make sure you aren’t sharing sensitive model or network information.  These little tidbits of information can unknowingly provide network and device access to hackers.
  • Be Aware and Up-to-Date: run firmware updates when available, and stay up-to-date on news regarding current vulnerabilities.

SIP Trunking

The dated Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), comprised of various types of analog lines, is quickly phasing out in favor of more modern and flexible SIP trunks.  Many of these PSTN runs are composed of deteriorating copper lines, and are being replaced by the expansion of fiber to the home and business fiber broadband.

What is a SIP Trunk?

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking has increased by 62% from 2015 to 2018, concentrated primarily in North America.  A SIP trunk is traditionally delivered by an internet service provider (ISP).  These lines are usually not physical lines, but rather a service provided over the internet.  Most SIP services are also delivered at better rates than PSTN providers.
Using the standard SIP protocol, one or more channels are connected to your PBX.  Your PBX is configured to route DIDs and phone numbers.  In many situations, your current office number can be ported to the SIP trunk.  (A PBX is the private branch exchange; the computer and/or software that routes calls through your internet-based phone service)

What are the benefits of SIP Trunking?

  • Lower monthly fees for lines and services
  • Lower call charges by using IP telephony and software
  • Mobility and flexibility: office calls available on your cell, visual voicemail and more!
  • Access to newest communication tools for productivity and collaboration
  • Virtual location instead of physical – phone service is not tied to your physical address

How do I get started?

Contact ITS.  Our technicians start with helping you identify your ISP options and SIP trunk availability.  We then discuss your office services, communication style, and employee needs to help you define your PBX needs.  The PBX product that we use in our office, and recommend to our clients, is 3CX.
Within the discussion about your ISP options, we will discuss the amount of bandwidth available at your physical location.  Modern firewalls are able to support multiple internet connections, and many businesses choose to purchase a primary and secondary internet connection.  When paired with an intelligent firewall, cutover during an internet outage is automated and downtime in IP phone and office data services is typically unnoticed.  Many modern firewalls also allow you to enforce QoS (Quality of Service) rules to your phone traffic across your network; this ensures that your phone calls are as crisp and clear as possible.

Why 3CX?

3CX is a 100% channel company, so all 3CX sales are routed through trained and certified partners, like ITS.  The solution is engineered and installed by ITS, as well as the initial training.
Our office adoption of 3CX allowed us to substantially lower our monthly telco bills.  The iOS app also provides instant connections to our offsite technicians through their internal phone extensions, and the presence tools allow us to see where technicians are physically located and whether they are available for a phone call or to be dispatched.
Some of our favorite features include:

  • Integration with existing business apps
  • Low-cost server requirements
  • Easy to provision new phones/extensions
  • Easy to change greetings and office hours/holiday hours
  • Fault tolerance via easy backup
  • Can coordinate with LDAP and Active Directory
  • Can coordinate with CRM solutions

3CX has been a great solution for our office and our numerous 3CX installs. Contact ITS for a demo or free trial, or to get started on your IP phone project.

K-12 Networks and DPI-SSL

What is DPI-SSL, and do I need to use it on my K-12 network? DPI-SSL involves using another layer of firewall protection to deeply inspect SSL traffic, which is where viruses and ransomware tend to travel.
Students, staff and guests communicate constantly while on your school Internet connection.  Connections and traffic vary in type, but can generally be categorized and viewed through your firewall.  Types of traffic we commonly see on a K-12 network:

  • UDP – stateless traffic such as surveillance camera feeds
  • HTTP – miscellaneous non-secure websites  – could be news sites, informational sites
  • HTTPS – miscellaneous secure websites – could be Google Apps or similar sites

Most firewalls can break this traffic down further, and can show you which traffic is going to facebook, Netflix, or Google services.  However, many firewalls currently in use cannot tell you what is going on inside that traffic. Did someone share a malicious file or link?  Is the content appropriate for students?
Even relatively new firewalls are increasingly falling behind the traffic inspection game; they may not be sized properly or have the necessary technology to provide deep packet inspection.  Services like YouTube and Google searches, that are available on HTTPS traffic, may circumvent firewall rules if the firewall is unable to inspect HTTPS traffic. While YouTube does provide options for limiting available videos by category or rating, some firewalls may not be able to enforce these rules as they may not be able to inspect the HTTPS connection that YouTube utilizes.
Using existing firewall analytics, we took a closer look at the traffic running on the networks of our current K-12 clients.  On average, 60% of network traffic at our schools polled was HTTPS traffic. If the school is not using DPI-SSL, this means that 60% of the traffic is traveling encrypted and un-inspected.
In general terms, HTTPS traffic is encrypted traffic.  For example, Google Apps works within encrypted traffic, as users must login to a secure website to interact with Google Apps data.  Shopping sites, banking sites and student management portals should also be encrypted and presented as HTTPS traffic, to keep your data and transactions safe.  Where is the harm in not inspecting HTTPS traffic? Ransomware, viruses and malware.
Cybercriminals have grown savvy in their distribution methods, and are able to send threats across the HTTPS protocol, essentially hiding them as they enter your network.  Once they reach an inbox or browser of an end-user, your network security depends on the ability of the end-user to determine whether a website is fake or real and whether an email is phishing or legitimate.  Network security experts maintain that the human component is the weakest and most important factor to consider when developing a network security plan.
SonicWall’s DPI-SSL and Capture services provide a platform that can quickly decrypt, inspect, and sandbox formerly hidden traffic. DPI-SSL stands for: Deep Packet Inspection of Secure Socket Layer (DPI-SSL).  This extends SonicWall’s Deep Packet Inspection technology to allow for the inspection of encrypted HTTPS traffic and other SSL based traffic. The SSL traffic is decrypted transparently, scanned for threats and then re-encrypted and sent along to its destination if no threats or vulnerabilities are found.
View an on-demand webinar from SonicWall to learn more about DPI-SSL traffic inspection.
You may think that ransomware, malware and viruses are a small concern for K-12 networks, but by 2019, 75% of web traffic will be HTTPS.  In addition to an increase in encrypted traffic, education is currently the favorite target of cyber criminals deploying ransomware, and over 30% of K-12 schools surveyed in the United States have been infected by ransomware.
Contact ITS for more specific information on a SonicWall model or service for your K-12 District.