You may have heard reports of Zoombombing, a form of trolling that disrupts meetings and classes by sharing disturbing content. Although Zoom took actions to reduce security vulnerabilities and improve its platform, the best way to prevent these kinds of troll activities is to take proactive security measures in your Zoom sessions.
This article covers the following topics
Securing Your Meetings
To secure your meetings, start by reviewing your Zoom meeting settings:
- Log in to your St. Edwards Zoom account
- Click "Settings" and review the following options
Tip: Keep your Zoom client up-to-date with the latest version and review your settings before scheduling meetings. Some meeting settings are enabled by default, but many are disabled, so check they align with your preferences before sending the meeting invite. Learn more about the latest Zoom updates by reviewing their release notes.
- Require Authentication to Join - Specify that only St. Edward's University users (who authenticate with our credentials) can join the meeting. Without specifying, anyone with a Zoom account can join.
- Enable the "require a passcode" setting when scheduling new meetings. By default, participants will need to enter a passcode to join, preventing unauthorized individuals from joining. See Meeting and Webinar Passwords for more information.
- To add a passcode to your Personal Meeting Room, follow these steps:
- Go to "Meetings" > "Personal Meeting Room"
- At the bottom of the Personal Meeting Room options, click "Edit This Meeting."
- Find the "Meeting Passcode" section and click "Require a meeting passcode."
- Replace the default passcode with a unique one (up to 10 characters).
- Turn on the Waiting Room option to control meeting access. By default, attendees cannot join the meeting until the host admits them individually from the waiting room.
- Disable in-meeting chat by toggling off the option to allow participants to chat. This setting also prevents users from saving chat.
- Disable screen sharing. By default, this is set to allow only the host to share a screen. If you need participants to share their screens, hosts can enable participants for screen share on a per-meeting basis. See Managing Participants in a Meeting for more information.
- To mask phone numbers in the participant list, access the "Telephone" tab in Settings. By default, all telephone numbers dialed into the meeting are obscured.
After you've started your meeting, you can take further actions to lock down settings and avoid unwanted participation.
- Mute all participants, including new arrivals, by using the Manage Participants controls. You'll have the option to allow participants to unmute themselves.
- Hosts can lock the meeting from the start (or when enough attendees have joined). Once locked, no additional participants can join it. To access this feature, simply click on the security icon on the toolbar.
- Move participants to the Waiting Room or put them on hold during a meeting/webinar. When participants are put on hold or moved to the waiting room, they'll be temporarily removed from the meeting until the host decides to take them off hold or admit them from the waiting room.
- Don't make meetings or classes public: You can require participants to use a password or have them enter a waiting room before admitting them.
- Don't share invite details on public channels: Avoid sharing meeting links on social media or public web pages. Instead, directly email or text meeting details to participants. You can also share details privately through a calendar invite or class-specific platforms. Also, remind participants not to publicly share meeting details.
- Remove uninvited participants by following these steps:
- Go to "Participants"
- Click the name of the unwanted participant
- Click "More"
- Select the "option to remove" them