Safe Exam Browser

Avenue Quizzes can be opened in a secure browser that controls the way a user interacts with the page. This secure browser can be configured to limit the user’s ability to navigate back or forward, search for or visit a website, use keyboard shortcuts such as print screen, copy or paste text, and spellcheck their work.

A secure browser or Safe Exam Browser (SEB) functions similarly to the Browser security setting under the Extra restrictions on attempts section of the Quiz settings; however, as it is a separate piece of software running on the user’s computer, it offers higher test security compared to the Extra restrictions.

A quiz using the Safe Exam Browser (SEB) is saved as a config file on the user’s computer. To open this file, the user needs to download the SEB application and install it on their computer before attempting the Quiz. 

Note: A SEB works best when installed and used on Windows or Mac computers. It is not recommended if students are using tablets or smartphones as these devices might not be compatible with the settings.

As the process of installing and using the SEB software on a personal device might be challenging for some learners, we recommend using this setting only in a computer lab or when sufficient technical support is available.

1. To download the SEB application, go to https://safeexambrowser.org/download_en.html.

2. Scroll down to view the list of available downloads.

3. Click on the version that is right for your computer. Steps 4-13

below show how you can download and install the Windows version. Steps 16-18 demonstrate the process for a Mac computer.

You will be redirected to the SOURCEFORGE website, and the download will begin automatically.

A popup appears, asking where you would like to download the program.

4. Choose your preferred location on your computer. In this example, it is saved in the Downloads area.

When the download is complete, a Thank you message appears. 

5. Click on the saved application file to start the installation process.

A pop up appears, prompting you to read and accept the terms and conditions and install the program. 

6. Click on the Install button, to start the program set-up process.

7. Click Close to complete the installation. 

8. Click on the downloaded file.

The installation Wizard appears. 

9. Click on Next>, to start installing.

10. Read the licensee agreement, accept the terms if you agree with them and click on Next>.

The program is now ready to install.

11. Click on the Install button. 

12. Click on the Finish button to complete the installation. 

The SEB application is now installed on your computer. To use the advanced features, follow steps 13-15. Otherwise, go to the Steps to Setting the SEB in an Avenue Quiz section below to see the instructions for setting up a SEB for your Avenue quiz.

13. To open the program, go to your computer’s Program files and locate the Safe Exam Browser folder.

14. Click on SEBConfigTool to open the application. 

The SEB Configuration window opens. 

15. Visit https://safeexambrowser.org/windows/win_usermanual_en.html for the full manual of SEB configurations. 

Note: While learning the details of the SEB application and its available settings is recommended for computer lab technologists, mastery of these features is not required for teachers who wish to use a SEB in their Avenue Quiz.

16. On a Mac, the process is shorter. Click on the version that is right for your computer.

You will be redirected to the SOURCEFORGE website, and the download will begin automatically. 

When the download is complete, a Thank you message appears.

17. Go to your Downloads folder, and double click on SafeExamBrowser-3.0.dmg.

A popup will display.

18. On the popup, drag Safe Exam Browser.app onto the Applications folder icon. 

The SEB application is now installed on your computer and ready to use. Visit https://safeexambrowser.org/macosx/mac_usermanual_en.html for the full manual, including SEB configurations. 

Note: While learning the details of the SEB application and its available settings is recommended for computer lab technologists, mastery of these features is not required for teachers who wish to use a SEB in their Avenue Quiz.

1. On your course page, click on the Turn editing on button. 

2. Create a new Quiz activity (see available Avenue Quiz articles), or scroll down to an existing Quiz to edit it. 

3. Click on the Quiz Edit drop down menu and choose Edit settings. 

Scroll down and click to expand the Safe Exam Browser menu.

Note: The default choice for Require the use of Safe Exam Browser is set to No.

4. Click to view the drop down menu.

There are three Yes options. 

• The first option, Yes – Configure manually provides you with a large number of settings and allows you to change and save them as a Template, which can be saved to your computer and used for other quizzes.
  
  
• The second option, Yes – Upload my own config allows you to upload a template that you have created previously.
  
  
• The last option, Yes – Use SEB client config, allows you to share with students the config file that has been created with the SEB application outside of Moodle.

  
  

Instructions for how to configure the template manually (first option) and how to upload a template that has been configured previously (second option) are presented in the following sections of this document. To learn how to use SEB client config on a Windows machine, see https://safeexambrowser.org/windows/win_usermanual_en.html. More instructions on how to use it on a Mac computer are available at https://safeexambrowser.org/macosx/mac_usermanual_en.html.

If this option is selected, students are required to download the SEB program on their computer as described in the previous section.

Note: Use this setting only if you have sufficient technical support for students, as the download and installation process might be difficult for some.

2. Show Exit Safe Exam Browser button, configured with this quit link. When students start a quiz in a SEB, unless quitting is enabled (see step 4 below), there is no button for them to click to exit the page. Adding an external link in this field will take the learners to a new page after they finish their Quiz. On this new page, they will see your link, which they need to click on in order to exit the Quiz and return to their normal browsers.

3. Ask user to confirm quitting. If a link is added to the previous field, you can choose whether students are asked to confirm that they are quitting the SEB. If you have not added a Quit link, set this to No.

4. Enable quitting of SEB. Choosing Yes for this setting (recommended) adds a Power icon to the bottom right corner of the SEB page.

If set to No students will start the SEB, but will not be able to quit and return to their normal screens. To avoid this, ensure that everyone understands alternative ways to quit the SEB before they start the quiz. These include clicking on Ctrl+Q, clicking on the browser close (X) button, clicking on the Quit link or typing the Quit password that you share with them prior to starting the Quiz (step 5 below).

5. Quit password. If you add a password to this field, you must ensure all students have it before starting the Quiz. When the students finish and submit their attempts, they click on the Power icon on the bottom-right corner of the page.

A pop up appears, prompting the user for the password. Students type the password and exit the SEB.

6. Enable reload in exam. Configuring this setting as Yes enables users to reload the page when needed using the reload icons on the SEB task bar (if enabled), the main browser’s toolbar or by pressing Ctrl+R or the F5 key on the keyboard.

Note: The SEB cannot be reloaded if the computer is not online.

7. Show SEB task bar. Choosing Yes for this setting will make a task bar available at the bottom of the SEB page, where users can see the Wi-Fi control, Reload and Power icons and the time (if enabled).

8. Show reload button. Configuring this setting as Yes will add a refresh button to the bottom right corner of the browser.

9. Show time. Choosing Yes for this setting will enable the users to see the current time.

10. Show keyboard layout. Set this to Yes to enable learners to see the keyboard language on the SEB task bar.

11. Show Wi-Fi control. Set this to Yes to enable students to connect to all Wi-Fi networks to which the computer has been previously connected.

12. Enable audio controls. This setting should be set to Yes, if the users are required to listen to audio. A speaker icon will appear at the bottom of the screen, and students can click to increase or decrease the volume of the audio.

13. Mute on startup. Setting this to Yes will mute the audio when the SEB is opened. 

14. Enable spell checking. Set this to Yes if you would like the system to offer suggestions for incorrectly spelled words.

15. Enable URL filtering. This setting will enable learners to view URLs that the teacher has filtered. If this is set to Yes, teachers must configure the filtering settings. We do not recommend this setting as complicated syntax is needed to make this feature work properly. 

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Save and display button.

The Quiz start page appears. 

If you want to reuse this template as a config file, click on the Download configuration button to download the Quiz and all the settings.

Note: The Quiz preview will not appear in an SEB unless you change your role to student. 

There are two ways to create a config file for this setting. You can either use the config file that you have saved following the above steps for Yes – Configure manually, or create and save a new configuration using the SEB application.

See https://safeexambrowser.org/windows/win_usermanual_en.html or https://safeexambrowser.org/macosx/mac_usermanual_en.html

Once the config file is saved to your computer:

1. From the Require the use of Safe Exam Browser drop down menu, choose Yes – Upload my own config.

2. Click on the Add… button to choose and add a .seb file from the server or your computer, or drag the file to the drag and drop area.

The .seb file appears in the file area. 

3. For the Show Safe Exam Browser download button setting, choose whether you want the students to see the SEB download button. If this option is selected, students are required to download the SEB program on their computer as described in the previous section. 

Note: Use this setting only if you have sufficient technical support for students, as the download and installation process might be difficult for some.

4. For the Allowed browser exam keys setting, add a list of all the keys you would like to allow the students to access to attempt the Quiz in the SEB. 

To learn how to use SEB client config on a Windows machine, see https://safeexambrowser.org/windows/win_usermanual_en.html. More instructions on how to use it on a Mac computer are available at https://safeexambrowser.org/macosx/mac_usermanual_en.html.

5. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Save and display button.

Before asking students to start a SEB quiz, make sure the SEB application has been downloaded on the computer, following the steps in the first part of this document.

When students click on the SEB Quiz activity, they will see different options on the start page. They will not need to click on the Launch Safe Exam Browser if it has already been installed and run on the computer by a lab admin. Instruct students to click on the Download configuration button.

The config file will start downloading on their computer.

When the download is finished, ask learners to open the file.

The Quiz opens in a SEB with the Avenue login page. After logging in, students complete the Quiz as they would for any other Avenue Quiz activity, submit their answers and click on the Power button to exit the page when they are done.

Moodle documents: Safe Exam Browser

Safe Exam Browser documents: SEB Configuration