Is it possible to trace someone using Google during an online exam?
Simple - run the system on a separate network segment (oh you are already, arn't you?). Force everything through a proxy, or disconnect that segment from the internet at large during an exam. There's nothing to stop someone from pasting a bigass cheat sheet on $randompastebinsite, or using their own proxy.
You'll have a MUCH easier time isolating the exam-network from the internet than tracing each and every system one by one. You'd probably need a switch with enough connections for all the systems and just disconnect the uplink port to the internet as needed. You do not want to use wireless for this.
If you insist on doing forensics, there's a few things to try assuming the students haven't thought to clear everything
nirsoft's mozilla history and cache view should let you read the history and cache of a copy of firefox - this would be defeated by clearing private data. Mylastsearch will narrow down searches on search engines.
ipconfig /displaydns in a command line will show all domains accessed. Running ipconfig /dnsflush will clear it - doing it after every student would make sure you can tell which student uses what.
OR
You can use javascript to detect when the exam webpage loses focus.
You can prompt a warning box that would ask the student to return focus to the window.
and terminate the exam if the student still opts switching tab.
here is how you can achieve it:Is there a way to detect if a browser window is not currently active?
There are ways to do it. When I was a little boy, about 10-15 years ago, my elementary school teacher would give us exam on the computer. But she would sit in front of her master PC, and can actually go right into each computer's desktop (you can see their screens). By telling them that they are actually being monitored, and call out their name once in a while, you will scare them.
Another way is ask yourself whether you need Internet access or not. If you don't, just ask the lab administrator to disable it during the exam. Because this is a university system, you have to go through the administrator. Most of them can actually disable it.
For me, as a CS major, I have to get the file from some 192.168.1.1xx IP, and submit it through that local server. The teacher will get the whole directory packed, and emailed to him.
If you really need Internet access, the only quickest solution is to redirect google, yahoo, bing. And walk around. Go and ask them to pause so you can check their PCs.
Also, you can ask to setup one unified temp account that they can browser any website, but they can't delete anything because they don't have the permission to do so. Or just a temp account that does not have Internet access.
You can ask to allow only XYZ website also. It can be done through the hosts file.
Trust me. There is nothing more effective than walking around and monitor given begging administrator to approve your requirement is like asking for a new job. Keep walking.
The simplest of all the answers I have seen so far is what my college did:
They made use of the Respondus Lockdown browser. You make the student log into the exam using the Lockdown browser only, it then ensures that you can't get out of that browser using any keyboard shortcuts or others well-known methods of forcing it to lose focus. The browser then logs everything you need to know, including any history and like and the student doesn't have the ability to delete anything.
Con: your college will have to pay for a license.
Major pro:
It connects directly into most well-known education content management systems such as Moodle, Blackboard, ANGEL, etc.
You don't have to worry about figuring out all the other solutions posted that involve IT knowledge, as you stated you weren't very good with computers.