Chromebooks; Google Drive and Gmail

[klarkwalker]

Our stake recently received several Chromebooks to replace the SFF computers in the clerk offices. These were purchased from CDW, so they were already enrolled with the Church management, and setting them up was a relatively simple process. However, there is a limitation in that ward and stake clerk accounts on the Chromebooks are not permitted to access Google Drive or Gmail (see below), yet the default Guest account can access them without any issues. This creates some inconvenience and has led to a few complaints from the clerks, as they are required to logout of their accounts and switch to the Guest account if they need to access documents on Drive or access to their emails. While I understand that the restriction is likely implemented for security reasons, it's noteworthy that the Guest account explicitly mentions that "churchofjesuschrist.org manages this device and has access to all user activity, including webpages visited, passwords, and email." This, in itself, provides a compelling reason why some ward clerks refuse to log into the Guest account. Consequently, this whole Chromebook situation has become a source of frustration for a few clerks.

Could someone provide additional clarification or information on this matter?

My apologies if this has already been addressed in the tech wiki or the forum somewhere and I have simply missed it.

Screenshot 2023-11-27 1.46.02 PM.png

[BrianEdwards]

I understand the convenience of accessing Google apps (or other cloud docs) via the clerk computer, we do it quite regularly. But is there anything which truly requires that access, that couldn't be done via a personal laptop instead of using the clerk's computer? If somebody has issues with the clerk account, they should be able to do everything via a personal device, connect to a printer, LCR, LCRF, whatever. And then solely use the clerk computer for church stuff that wouldn't need private Google access.

Definitely a step-back from a user perspective, and I'm not aware if the Church has officially stated anything on this regard. We've all definitely grown accustomed to using the clerk computer on Sundays for all-purpose access.

[KirbyDM]

All good feedback.

The Church does not collect any information other than usage information like usage time, last connection, user email if signed in, etc.
The Church does not collect usernames and passwords as various sites are visited.
All of the information collected by the Chromebook during a guest session is erased when the session is closed.

You can access your personal Gmail account even if you are logged into the Chromebook using a personal account by following the instructions on the attached PDF.

Your friendly Church Computer Product Manager

[russellhltn]

they should be able to do everything via a personal device, connect to a printer,

It depends on how the printer is set up. I've not seen anything that suggests it should be one way or another. If it's strictly USB, that's going to be an issue.

[klarkwalker]

I understand the convenience of accessing Google apps (or other cloud docs) via the clerk computer, we do it quite regularly. But is there anything which truly requires that access, that couldn't be done via a personal laptop instead of using the clerk's computer?

Without question! However, there are two clerks that I'm aware of that do not own a personal laptop and one of them I know takes notes the old-fashioned way (pen and paper), and later puts them into Docs either on the ward computer or on his home PC. He's looking forward to saving time by using the Chromebook.

[klarkwalker]

All good feedback.

The Church does not collect any information other than usage information like usage time, last connection, user email if signed in, etc.
The Church does not collect usernames and passwords as various sites are visited.
All of the information collected by the Chromebook during a guest session is erased when the session is closed.

You can access your personal Gmail account even if you are logged into the Chromebook using a personal account by following the instructions on the attached PDF.

Your friendly Church Computer Product Manager

Thank you for this document. Greatly appreciated!

[autryld]

The installation I just completed was first Chromebook for a ward in our stake. Following the FAQ I printed out, I found it was very easy to install. I don't think it took much over 30 minutes. There were a few unknowns that turned out to be intuitive.

After I created an account on the laptop and logged in, I went to check my email and got the same message that the OP posted. I did figure out that all I needed to do was add my account to the browser. Although there is the guest account, having separate accounts is better because your own cached information is not visible to other users a long as you log out after using the Chromebook.

The printer was recognized almost immediately and much quicker than on Windows.

I tried to use a standard HDMI to DisplayPort cable to connect the existing external monitor. This will NOT work because in that direction because the cable is passive. I was fooled into thinking it would because I saw it work from a computer DisplayPort out to an HDMI monitor and didn't think about if the opposite direction would work. For that direction an active converter is needed. Fortunately, the Samsung monitors in our Stake also have DVI connectors. HDMI to DVI connectors on the monitors work great.

In the workplace people often shut the lid of their laptops and only use the external monitor (which is what I had always done). For whatever reason, the admins have disabled the feature to keep the Chromebook from sleeping with the lid closed. Anyway, the clerk gets two displays that way so It's not a big deal. Be sure to set up the correct positions of the laptop and external display. It is easy to switch the positions in settings by dragging the display to its proper relative position.

One last item of note. Settings are not accessible until you log into an account. One logged in, click on the time and that will allow access to the settings.

Although this installation was more or less intuitive to me, it was nevertheless a learning opportunity. Some STSs may need more explicit directions.

[ramsdenb]

A number of years ago, the mission president requested all the stake presidents provide access to the ward clerk's office, so that the missionaries have access to the computers. Remember that the missionaries have their mobile phones with them. I wasn't happy about this. But there wasn't much I could do about it. On Sundays, I would find the missionaries in the clerk's office on the computers. They were given the username and password to log in. Needless to say, I told them to leave. One time, I checked the Downloads in the file manager. non gospel Images, and non gospel music. I checked the dates when the files were downloaded. Any day other than a Sunday. My bishop couldn't do anything about it. Except to shoo the missionaries away from the clerk's office. I was even asked by a missionary to provide a key to the office. I refused to comply. I then made a official complaint to the stake president. He understood my situation, but was unwilling to do anything about it, except to talk to the zone leaders. One of the biggest gripes is that computer cables will go missing. In the end, the facility manager provided a Google Chromebook. Which means, that I can lock it away, and is password protected with my church login details.

The church talks about safety and security when going online. This to me was a blatant irresponsible use of church equipment. That mission president has now done his 3 years. No more requests for access to the clerk's office.

I have been using the chromebook now for a year. Sure there are massive limitations what can be accessed. Guest does provide access to Gmail, but there are other limitations. Playstore is blocked. Youtube is blocked. Can't change the church administration settings. The main use I have for the chromebook is to use Gmail when recording leadership meetings. To me, whatever severe restrictions the church has placed on the chromebook is a little inconvenience to the safety and security to protect one. Don't like the restrictions, use a personal laptop or tablet. The church is not only protecting the resources provided by the donation of it members, but to protect them as well.

[autryld]

However, there is a limitation in that ward and stake clerk accounts on the Chromebooks are not permitted to access Google Drive or Gmail (see below), yet the default Guest account can access them without any issues.

You can access Gmail after you log in with your Church account credentials. You will need to log into the Chrome browser yet again with your personal credentials. I was able to do this once I figured out what was going on. Click on the profile in the upper right and you should see how you can do this. Another way to explain this is that there are two layers of access. Church access first then your own account access.

[autryld]

One time, I checked the Downloads in the file manager. non gospel Images, and non gospel music.

This is probably not the best conversation for this topic but nevertheless I'll weigh in.

A couple of years ago, we had a pair of missionaries that used the FSC computers quite a lot. They had cameras and microphones set up. I spoke to them about their heavy use of the systems but I didn't ask that they be blocked totally. I didn't think too much about it since then until today. An update to Windows 11 failed due to running out of disk space on the machine they used the most. I dug deeper and found that the guest account had been activated. Also, a lot of Java development code was there, non church images (nothing terrible) and other personal files. Also, what appeared to be GitHub code. I believe I deleted about 50GB of files. (The disk only has just over 100 GB). After I freed up the disk, the update was successful.
It is difficult to imagine a young missionary with the experience level to have put all this "stuff" on a FSC system but there it was. It could have been a local member but as there were photos of the missionaries in the guest account along with the code I can only suspect one of them had quite a lot of development experience.
I'm not sure why there is a missionary account to begin with. Finding that code on the machine got me thinking maybe I should have installed ChromeOS Flex the systems. That would certainly be a deterrent in the future. Unless of course someone knew how to activate Linux on ChromeOS. It's pretty locked down though so I hope not.