Alternatives & comparisons
Pearson OnVUE Alternative for the AI Cheating Era (2026)
Pearson OnVUE locks down a browser and pairs AI with a live proctor over webcam and microphone. It does identity and visible behavior well. But Cluely isn't visible, and it isn't in the browser. A locked-down browser controls a single window — the rest of the operating system, and any second device, sit outside its sandbox. Here is what lives there.
What Pearson OnVUE Does
Pearson OnVUE is the online-proctored delivery method for Pearson VUE certification exams. A candidate installs a secure browser that puts the machine into a locked-down state — no new tabs, no copy/paste, no other foreground applications — then submits a photo ID and completes a room scan. From there, assistive AI and a Pearson VUE-certified live proctor watch webcam and microphone for the whole session. It works well for the things a proctor or a behavioral model can see: identity verification, a second person in the room, looking away from the screen, a phone in view, obvious environmental cheating.
What Pearson OnVUE Cannot See
A secure browser controls a single browser window. The rest of the operating system — and any second device next to the keyboard — sits outside that sandbox. An invisible AI overlay like Cluely runs at the OS layer and marks itself excluded from the screen-capture APIs the proctor relies on. A candidate reading an AI answer off a transparent overlay looks like a candidate reading the question. The technique is invisible by design, and it lives outside the locked browser.
The same limitation applies to on-device LLMs. A model running in local memory produces no screen artifact, no webcam-visible behavior, and no network traffic to intercept — and it runs outside the browser the lockdown controls. Aiseptor detects the technique instead of the appearance: a screen-capture-exclusion flag, GPU VRAM deltas, and DNS/SNI to AI endpoints — regardless of process name.
The Observation Trade-off
Pearson OnVUE's model is observation: webcam video, microphone audio, a room scan, and a government ID, watched by assistive AI and a live human and retained for review. That is a deliberate, defensible choice for high-stakes certification — but it is also a recording of the candidate in their own home, with the privacy and data-handling obligations that come with it.
Aiseptor collects no webcam data, no microphone audio, no screen content, and no keystrokes. Only session-level network and device signals, retained by default for 24 hours. The audit record is metadata about what was and wasn't reachable during the session, not a recording of the candidate. For the full data model, see the trust page.
Comparison: Pearson OnVUE vs. Network-Layer Enforcement
| Capability | Pearson OnVUE | Aiseptor (Network Layer) |
|---|---|---|
| Secure / locked-down browser | Yes | Complementary |
| Live proctor / webcam / identity verification | Yes | No |
| Invisible AI overlays (Cluely, Pluely, unknown forks) | No | Yes |
| On-device LLMs (Ollama, LM Studio) | No | Yes |
| OS-wide network / DNS enforcement | No | Yes |
| Second-device / off-sandbox AI surface | No | Yes |
| Data collected | Webcam, microphone, screen, ID | Network access signals only |
Complementary Architecture
Pearson OnVUE = identity, physical, and browser-lockdown layer. Aiseptor = network and device layer. Aiseptor sits beneath the secure browser, not in place of it. They cover different parts of the threat surface. OnVUE's live proctors and room scan catch the physical and identity cheating Aiseptor does not address — a person off-camera, a faked ID, a second human in the room. Aiseptor catches the device and network AI surface a webcam and a locked browser cannot see — the overlay running at the OS layer, the local model running in memory. We don't claim to replace identity verification or physical proctoring.
See also: Respondus alternatives · ExamSoft alternatives
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pearson OnVUE detect Cluely?
Pearson OnVUE locks down a single browser window and watches the candidate through a webcam, with AI plus a live proctor. Cluely is an OS-layer overlay that runs outside that browser sandbox and excludes itself from the screen-capture APIs a proctor sees. A locked browser controls one window; an invisible overlay sits in the rest of the operating system, invisible by design. These surfaces don't intersect architecturally.
Does Pearson OnVUE detect AI cheating?
Pearson OnVUE can flag AI-assisted behaviors that are visible to its webcam, microphone, live proctor, or assistive AI — looking off-screen, moving your lips while reading, a second person in the room. It cannot see an OS-layer overlay that hides from screen capture, or an on-device language model running in local memory with no network traffic. Both live outside the locked browser window OnVUE controls.
Why can't a secure browser stop an on-device LLM?
A locked-down browser controls one browser window and blocks new tabs, copy/paste, and other applications from coming to the foreground. An on-device LLM (Ollama, LM Studio) runs in local memory, produces no screen artifact the proctor can see, and generates no network traffic to intercept. A second device sitting next to the keyboard is also entirely outside the browser sandbox. The technique lives below the browser, so the browser can't see it.
Is Aiseptor a replacement for Pearson OnVUE?
No. Aiseptor enforces exam integrity at the network and device layer — it detects the technique (screen-capture-exclusion flags, GPU VRAM deltas, DNS/SNI to AI endpoints) regardless of process name. It does not verify identity, run a room scan, or watch the room for a person off-camera. For physical, identity, and environment proctoring, Pearson OnVUE covers ground Aiseptor explicitly does not. Aiseptor sits beneath it.
Where Aiseptor Fits: Beneath, Not Instead Of
Aiseptor is a layer, not a rip-and-replace. It sits beneath Pearson OnVUE — and beneath any lockdown browser or proctoring service — owning the device and network layer those tools architecturally cannot reach. Keep what you have for browser control or webcam proctoring; add Aiseptor for the OS- and network-level AI threats it was built to stop. The exam page can open in a normal browser while Aiseptor enforces the machine boundary.
What Aiseptor does not do: physical and environment security is out of scope. Aiseptor does not verify identity, watch the room, or catch a phone, a paper note, or an in-person accomplice off-camera. For those, pair Aiseptor with a live proctor or an identity-verification step. Aiseptor secures the device and the network path — not the physical room around it.
The browser is locked. The OS isn't. Aiseptor secures the layer beneath.
Aiseptor detects the technique — screen-capture exclusion, GPU VRAM deltas, DNS/SNI to AI endpoints — at the network and OS layer, regardless of process name. Keep your secure browser; add the layer it can't reach.