The certifying entities have nothing to gain and much to lose by incorrectly labeling a test-taker as a cheater. Maybe I'm being naïve, but I would assume that they would feel pretty confident in a technology like this before making use of it.
Of course, as Tim perhaps was implying, maybe their goal is just to shake people up. I just read the article twice, and unless I missed it, no one actually said they were going to be doing this--they only said they *could* do it. John Hornbuckle MIS Department Taylor County School District 318 North Clark Street Perry, FL 32347 www.taylor.k12.fl.us -----Original Message----- From: Kurt Buff [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 12:58 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Can you say "lawsuit"? I knew you could... I wonder just exactly how valid these supposed forensics are. I'm willing to bet that their methods are, uh, a bit unsound. Mind you, I haven't taken a certification exam for nearly 15 years, and don't really think I will any time soon, but the approach taken here seems likely to cause real problems. http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2008/082608musthaler.html "...the companies that create and own the tests have a virtually foolproof way to know whether you've used illegal materials when you take an exam..." and "Every time an individual takes a certification exam online, there are digital "fingerprints" that identify how long that person took to answer each question, whether he went back and changed any answers, and so on. Using data-forensics techniques, this digital evidence is analyzed for every exam taken. With incredible accuracy, the forensics reveal patterns that identify cheaters. Even inadvertent cheaters -- those who didn't know they used illegal preparatory materials -- can be caught, but they are not distinguished from people who cheat intentionally." Kurt ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
