Process to restrict games on a computer
Talks have been going on in my school among the heads about some sort of application which will be installed via the standard network update system onto every student's computer - and depending on which year they are in denotes how much time they can spend playing games (or if they can play them at all). Note that these are just talks and there are currently no plans to implement this, but it's an idea which is lingering with hostility around the place.
So, I have a few questions. I know that you may not be able to answer them as I cannot give you any more details (because I don't know them), but I'll give it a shot anyway.
Firstly, how would this application know when a game has been started? Possibly an increase in CPU usage, but then running an application like Photoshop would have the same effects so this probably isn't the method the app would use..
Also, let's say I don't have my network cable plugged in, and I start up a game (like Battlefield 2). Presumably, the application would log my access to a game in a log file, which would be somewhere remoteon my filesystem and with an unsuspicious name if the developers know what they're doing. But, if I found this log file then I could just delete the entry - so no information would be sent to their servers. This must be a functionality lapse in the application? Unless there is another way to get around this (like storing the data within the program itself - although I have not had experience with storing data in a Windows app to survive a restart).
My third question is - would HJThis detect this? The process would either be hidden or be 'non-closable' (as I have experienced in the past with Symantec Anti-virus), so my assumption is that it would be seen as malware and be dealt with accordingly? If I had an application like RegistryProt then I could stop any entries being added to the registry, which could corrupt or expose the program. Correct?
And if an entry was created in Add or Remove Programs and I tried uninstalling it, but a password was required (this happened to me with Symantec as well), how would that be resolved?
There are so many things about this proposed application that I do not understand, but I would like to have an inkling of what may happen in the future - I am not one who enjoys being kept in the dark ;)
I am not looking for a way to get around it in the future if it does come into place (I already know of one and I won't be using it), but I'd like to know more about the topic. It sounds too much like malware to me..
And I've heard that the laptops would then be rendered useless for gaming even at home :eek: If I could uninstall it at least when I got home, then it wouldn't be so much of a problem - although I do not like my privacy being invaded, not matter where I am.
Again, there are currently no plans to make this active - but I want to discuss the (possible) facts about it to become more aware of the situation.
Thanks,
-jk