There’s an interesting question on r/privacy about a school student who has been told to install this on their laptop: https://linewize.co.nz/
Would creating a second user account and installing it only there do anything in terms of separation?
When I install something on a second user account, then I am asked for the admin user’s password. Would doing this give linewize access to all accounts?
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My guess is a separate profile would do nothing. The website doesn’t give specifics but it seems like device management software (similar to what IT would install on work devices themed for child protection). My guess is it installs some sort of agent on the machine, which isn’t going to be affected by simply being on a different user.
If it requires admin privileges (UAC elevation) then user profiles will not isolate it.
If it does not then they will isolate it pretty well but not perfectly, it could still enumerate many installed programs, access external drives which are not specifically configured with restrictive NTFS permissions and more.
I’d suggest not installing it.
During installation, yes. With which privileges it runs after installation is a different question. But considering its purpose, it likely runs with the necessary privileges to have cross-profile access. Recommend not installing it.
Not a good source of information. I would recommend to edit your answer there.
The trouble with that is it is not straight-forward for an single young person to go up against school policy. I’ve worked in schools all my life and it’s something you wouldn’t wish on any person. It’d be better to fight smart. I guess dual-booting is the better way, or a dedicated school laptop.
Another option if this is a minor, is to have the parents say they are not comfortable with the school having that much access on a personal computer and request the school provide a device.