Your first proctored online exam can feel intimidating: a webcam watching, software monitoring your browser, warnings about violations. The reality is far less dramatic — if you prepare properly. This guide walks you through everything to do before, during, and after a proctored exam so that on the day, the only thing you need to think about is the questions.
One Week Before: Check Your Equipment
Most exam-day disasters are equipment problems that were detectable a week earlier. Confirm your device meets the requirements — a working webcam, a supported browser (usually a current version of Chrome or Edge), and enough battery or a reliable power supply. Test your webcam in the browser, not just in another app: browsers manage camera permissions separately, and "it works in Zoom" does not guarantee it works in the exam platform. If your institution offers a practice or mock exam, take it. Ten minutes in a mock session answers more questions than an hour of reading instructions.
Prepare Your Room, Not Just Your Notes
Proctoring systems check that you are present, alone, and not using unauthorised devices, so set the scene accordingly. Choose a quiet room where nobody will walk behind you — a second face in frame is one of the most common accidental flags. Sit facing a light source rather than with a window behind you; backlighting is the leading cause of face-detection dropouts. Clear the desk of phones, tablets, smartwatches, and notes unless they are explicitly permitted. Put your phone in another room, not face-down beside you: if it is out of reach, it cannot ring, tempt, or be detected.
Understand What the Software Actually Monitors
Fear of proctoring software usually comes from not knowing what it does. A typical modern system, ProctrMe included, monitors a specific and limited set of signals: whether a face is present in the webcam frame, whether more than one face appears, whether a phone becomes visible, whether you switch tabs or leave fullscreen, and whether you attempt to copy content or take screenshots. Privacy-conscious platforms process video locally in your browser and record only event logs — not footage of your room. What the software does not do is read your mind, punish you for scratching your nose, or fail you automatically: flags go to a human for review.
The Morning of the Exam
Restart your computer before the exam — this clears memory and closes background processes that could slow the AI monitoring. Close every application and browser tab you do not need; many platforms flag switching to other windows, and a stray notification popup at the wrong moment is an avoidable distraction. Disable system notifications or enable do-not-disturb mode. Log in early: identity verification and camera checks take a few minutes, and arriving with time to spare means technical hiccups are inconveniences rather than emergencies.
During the Exam: Habits That Keep You Flag-Free
Stay in frame and roughly centred — if you need to look down at permitted rough paper, keep it brief and frequent glances rather than long disappearances. Do not leave fullscreen or switch tabs, even reflexively; if the exam permits an external calculator or reference, confirm exactly how you are allowed to access it before the exam starts. If something goes wrong — the connection drops, the camera freezes, a family member walks in — do not panic and do not try to hide it. Use the support channel your institution provided and let the disruption be logged honestly. A documented, explained interruption reviewed by a human is very different from behaviour that looks concealed.
If You Are Flagged Anyway
Flags are inputs to human judgement, not verdicts. Reviewers see the type, time, and duration of each event and understand the difference between a 90-minute pattern of tab-switching and a single dropped face detection when your laptop lagged. If you are contacted about a violation, respond factually: what happened, when, and why. Institutions using well-designed platforms have the session log in front of them, and honest accounts that match the log are usually resolved quickly. You are also generally entitled to see the evidence — ask for it.
The Mindset That Helps Most
Treat the proctoring system the way you treat an invigilator in a physical exam hall: present, mostly irrelevant, and there to protect the value of the result you are working for. Students who prepare their equipment, set up their room, and understand the rules report that within ten minutes they forget the monitoring entirely. That is the goal — because every minute spent worrying about the webcam is a minute not spent on the exam.