New Anti-Cheating Software

Packet databases and other quizbowl sites, apps, or software should be discussed here.
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bubbIebyb
Kimahri
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2020 8:48 am

New Anti-Cheating Software

Post by bubbIebyb »

CopBot is a new tool that created by me and Michael Karpov of Barrington that can be used by TDs to catch cheaters and discourage cheating at online quizbowl tournaments.

There are two halves to CopBot: The desktop client and the web app.
The desktop client opens the Discord website in a new window as if it were a separate app and then tracks if the person running the desktop client is focused on the client or on a different window. The web app is a web interface from which tournament directors can see whether or not users are tabbed into the desktop client. CopBot does not track what apps the user is using, what server they're on nor is it even able to obtain that information. The only data CopBot collects from the user besisdes whether or not the user is tabbed in to the client is their gmail and their Discord information (including their user id, username, and the email address connected to their Discord account). The user consents to the collection of this data through Oauth2 login forms.

CopBot creates a new data point for tournament directors to look at and can be a very strong deterrent when combined with mandatory cameras as that can make it much harder for cheaters to search up questions on their computer or their phone.

The whole process is designed so that everything is as secure possible. Oauth2 is used for logins instead of passwords and all user data on the database will be wiped after every tournament. In addition, only tournament directors (that have to be manually approved) can access the admin console to see users' status. All the code is also open source and availble on GitHub

As this service does not modify Discord in any way and only mirrors Discord's website, it does not break the Discord TOS.

If you have any questions or would like to use this tool at your tournament, visit the CopBot Website or join the CopBot Discord Server
Eamin Ahmed
Hunter College High School -> Phillips Exeter Academy '24
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