There has been a recent Chromebook adjustment at West.  On Monday, October 21rst a huge extension ban has been issued.  It blocks most apps, extensions, and additional things. The president of PCCSK, Mr. Salzer, has decided to issue this ban due to issues with functionality on Chromebooks.

 Functionality has been a problem, and this ban protects computers from harmful malware extensions may download.  “There are a lot of extensions with malicious intent,” says Salzer. Mr. Salzer is the technology leader for PCCSK Chromebooks.  Many downloadables can cause bad things to happen on Chromebooks, and this ban stops them.

Although helpful in the long run, this movement did not go well with students.  7th grader Joseph R. said he was “ very upset “ about this. It removes apps, which are a reliable way to entertain yourself without WIFI.  Because of this, there is a lot of annoyance with students at West. Some students have relied on these to have a good time, and they are extremely upset.  

Another reason this ban took place was replacer extensions.  Some extensions do what they’re supposed to- but that’s not always a good thing.  Replacer extensions replace useful information with other items. One example is an extension that would replace all images with Lebron James.  “Tabby Cat” is an extension that makes it nearly impossible to look something up. These are some of the main reasons this blockade took place.

There’s more good news, though.  Although this ban took place to block malicious and annoying add-ons,  you can still get an extension brought back. If you can prove it is useful and non-harmful, or just fun and non-harmful, you can bring it back.  You can talk to a teacher to unblock it, and Mr. Salzer, if he approves, may unblock it for everyone!  

Malware has been found in downloaded websites, and this ban protects Chromebook users at all PCCS schools from this threat.