AI Overlay for Kryterion Webassessor - CompTIA, CISSP, Salesforce on Mac
Kryterion, founded 2001 in Phoenix Arizona, operates Webassessor and the Sentinel Secure lockdown app. CompTIA online testing, ISC2 CISSP retakes, Salesforce, ITIL, Atlassian, and many Linux Foundation certifications deliver through Webassessor with Sentinel Secure handling the host lockdown.
Webassessor is Kryterion test-delivery platform; Sentinel Secure is the companion lockdown application a candidate downloads on Mac before any online-proctored exam. Sentinel Secure prevents application switching, blocks new browser tabs and windows, disables copy and paste, blocks printing, and blocks the screenshot hotkeys. None of that touches the underlying macOS window-privacy mechanism. Sentinel Secure captures the screen through the standard ScreenCaptureKit pipeline on Sonoma+ and streams it to a Kryterion proctor through Kryterion in-house proctoring console.
Key points
- Kryterion HQ is in Phoenix, Arizona; the company was founded in 2001 and introduced online proctoring through Webassessor in 2007.
- Sentinel Secure on Mac requires macOS 10.9.2 or newer and an external standalone webcam minimum 720p at 30fps.
- Major clients running through Webassessor include CompTIA Server+, ISC2 CISSP retakes, Salesforce certifications, ITIL, Atlassian, Cloudera, and many Linux Foundation exams.
- Sentinel Secure blocks app-switching, copy/paste, printing, and the Cmd-Shift-3/4 screenshot hotkeys; the overlay hot-key registers below the app layer.
- Kryterion provides both pre-scheduled live proctoring and on-demand 24x7 proctoring; the overlay is hidden in both modes.
How it works
┌── macOS host ─────────────────────────────────┐ │ ┌── proctor desktop app ───────┐ │ │ │ Calls ScreenCaptureKit / │ ← misses │ │ │ CGWindowListCreateImage │ flagged │ │ └──────────────────────────────┘ windows │ │ │ │ ┌── LDBypass overlay window ───┐ │ │ │ sharingType = .none │ ← invisible │ │ └──────────────────────────────┘ to capture│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Compatibility on Mac
| macOS 14 Sonoma+ | Yes (required for window-privacy API) | ✓ |
| Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) | Native arm64 build | ✓ |
| Intel Macs (2019+) | Universal binary supported | ✓ |
| Sentinel Secure for Mac | macOS 10.9.2+ supported, 10.9.1 blocked | ✓ |
| External webcam requirement | Webcam is unrelated to overlay visibility | ✓ |
| Webassessor in-browser test | Browser session running under Sentinel lockdown | ✓ |
Common questions
Does Sentinel Secure scan for screen-share apps before launching?
Sentinel Secure enumerates running processes against an internal blacklist of remote-desktop and screen-share apps. LDBypass uses a randomized process name per build.
Will Sentinel Secure anti-screenshot block the overlay hotkey?
No. Sentinel intercepts the Cmd-Shift-3 and Cmd-Shift-4 screenshot shortcuts at the Cocoa event level. LDBypass uses a Carbon global hot-key registered with RegisterEventHotKey.
I have a CompTIA online exam in Webassessor - is this different from CompTIA via OnVUE?
Yes. CompTIA offers online sittings through both Pearson VUE OnVUE and Kryterion Webassessor depending on exam.
What about CISSP - is that on Kryterion or PSI?
ISC2 historically used Pearson VUE for CISSP and now uses Pearson VUE plus a Kryterion fallback for retakes in certain regions.