Comparison · 7 min read
Safe Exam Browser vs Aiseptor: Setup Work and What You Can See During the Exam
Safe Exam Browser is free, open source and maintained by ETH Zurich. It is built into Moodle, ILIAS, OpenOlat and Open edX, and for many institutions it is the default way to lock down an online exam. That reputation is earned.
The licence fee is zero, but two costs don't show up on it. One is the work of getting SEB onto every candidate's device and every exam configured correctly. The other is what you can see while the exam is running, which, with SEB on its own, is nothing. This post compares both with Aiseptor. It leaves aside the threats SEB can't detect, which we cover in Safe Exam Browser alternatives.
What setting up Safe Exam Browser involves
On the candidate's side, SEB has to be installed on the device they will use, from a supported list: Windows 10 (version 1803 or newer) or 11, macOS, or iOS. On Windows, the install includes a background service that runs with administrator privileges, and the MSI packages need their runtime dependencies installed separately. On a locked-down work laptop or a shared family machine, any of this can turn into a support ticket before the exam has started.
On the exam owner's side, each exam needs a configuration. In Moodle, the quiz settings offer five ways to require SEB: no requirement, configure manually, use a template, upload your own .seb file, or rely on the candidate's own client configuration. Each mode exposes a different subset of options.
Version compatibility runs through all of it:
- If you upload your own configuration, Moodle rewrites part of it, so you re-download the file and calculate a Browser Exam Key for every SEB version you allow, then paste each one into the quiz.
- Config Keys are calculated automatically, but only work with SEB versions above a minimum, so older clients are rejected.
- Launching SEB from an ordinary browser link only works from certain versions onwards. Candidates on older ones have to open the downloaded config file instead.
- Templates are edited as raw plist XML.
None of this is unreasonable for a tool that controls the whole desktop. It is work, though, and it lands on the exam owner every time a configuration changes and on the candidate every time a device is new.
What setting up Aiseptor involves
On the candidate's side, there is nothing to prepare in advance. Your platform sends them an onboarding link. They open it, download a small agent, and connect with the join code shown on the page. The enclave is up in about 30 seconds, needs no kernel driver, and removes itself from the device about 10 seconds after the session ends. It works on the candidate's own laptop.
On the exam owner's side, one API call creates the session, with the exam's policy chosen by a preset rather than a configuration file per exam. There are no client versions to keep in step: the agent removes itself after each session and is downloaded again for the next. Most integrations are running in production in under a business day.
| Safe Exam Browser | Aiseptor | |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate installs | SEB client, kept on the device, with an elevated background service on Windows | Agent downloaded per session from an onboarding link |
| Per-exam setup | .seb configuration file or LMS plugin settings | Session preset in one API call |
| Version management | Browser Exam Keys per allowed SEB version; older clients rejected by Config Keys | None on the candidate's device |
| After the exam | SEB stays installed | Agent removes itself in about 10 seconds |
| Cost | Free and open source | Per session, first 5 sessions free |
What you can see while the exam is running
This is the larger difference, and the one most comparisons skip.
Safe Exam Browser on its own sends nothing anywhere. SEB's documentation states that it "does not connect to any central server or cloud service". It writes logs to the candidate's machine: on Windows, three files per session in the user's local AppData folder. Logging can be turned off in the settings. If something happens during an exam, you find out afterwards, if at all, by retrieving files from that candidate's device.
SEB Server adds monitoring, and adds a server to run. SEB Server is an optional open-source component that the institution hosts itself. With it, exam staff can see connected clients, run an integrity check on each one, lock or quit a client remotely and, since October 2024, use screen proctoring with a live view of candidates' screens. That is real visibility, but it means deploying, securing and operating another service. It also has a limit worth knowing: screen proctoring is built from screen capture, and invisible AI overlays exclude themselves from screen capture by design. The live view shows a clean exam window while the overlay sits on the candidate's screen.
Aiseptor pushes what it sees as it happens. Every session event is sent to your platform as a webhook signed with HMAC-SHA256: the candidate joining or leaving, a threat being detected, the verdict being ready, the session ending. Detection works at the level the overlay can't hide from: the screen-capture-exclusion flag it has to set, GPU memory changes from a locally loaded model, requests to AI services, and virtual machines. Each session ends with a signed result, CLEAN or FLAGGED, naming the signals that fired, such as OVERLAY_CHEAT, AI_LOCAL_LLM or VM_DEVICE, with a link to the full audit report. There is nothing to host.
It does this without watching the candidate. Aiseptor collects network-access signals and device-activity metadata only, keeps them for 24 hours by default, and does not use the webcam or microphone, log keystrokes or record the screen.
| SEB alone | SEB with SEB Server | Aiseptor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where events go | Log files on the candidate's device | Your self-hosted server | Signed webhooks to your platform |
| When you see them | After the exam, if retrieved | During the exam | During the exam |
| Shows capture-excluded overlays | No | No (built from screen capture) | Yes, as a named signal |
| Infrastructure you run | None | SEB Server, plus the screen proctoring service | None |
| End-of-session record | Local logs | Server logs and recordings | Signed CLEAN / FLAGGED result with named signals |
When Safe Exam Browser is the right choice
SEB is a good fit when the exam runs inside Moodle or another LMS with built-in support, on machines your institution manages, and the stakes are moderate. A department quiz in a computer lab is exactly what it was designed for, and the price is hard to beat.
The calculation changes when candidates sit the exam on their own devices, when you cannot spend support time on installs and version keys, or when you need to know during the exam rather than after it. That describes most certification, licensing and hiring assessments.
The two also work together. SEB can keep owning the exam window while Aiseptor covers the device and network underneath and reports what it finds as it happens. If you want a single tool for both, Aiseptor Secure Browser is a lockdown browser for macOS and Windows with the same enforcement underneath; it is currently in beta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Safe Exam Browser store its logs?
On the candidate's own machine. SEB for Windows writes three log files per session to the user's local AppData folder, and SEB does not send logs to any central server. Collecting them means retrieving them from each device, and logging can be turned off in the settings.
Can Safe Exam Browser monitor candidates during an exam?
Not on its own. Live monitoring needs SEB Server, an optional open-source component the institution hosts and runs itself. With it, exam staff can see connected clients, check client integrity, lock or quit clients remotely and, with the screen proctoring service, watch a live view of candidates' screens.
Does SEB Server's screen proctoring show invisible AI overlays?
No. Tools such as Cluely mark their windows as excluded from screen capture, so they are left out of screen capture by design. A live view built from screen capture shows a clean exam window while the overlay is on screen for the candidate.
What does a candidate install for an Aiseptor session?
A small agent from the onboarding link your platform sends them. They connect with a join code, the enclave is up in about 30 seconds, it needs no kernel driver, and it removes itself from the device about 10 seconds after the session ends.
Should I replace Safe Exam Browser with Aiseptor?
Not necessarily. Safe Exam Browser is a sound, free choice for locking the exam window, especially for lower-stakes Moodle quizzes on managed machines. Aiseptor covers what sits below the window and reports it as it happens. Many programs can run both.
Aiseptor secures high-stakes assessments at the network and device level and reports what it sees while the session runs. See how it works → · Run 5 free sessions →