Do you Zoom? Has someone asked you to a Zoom meeting? Are you worried about the security issues you’ve been hearing about on the web?
Zoom, for now, remains a really widely used tool for video calls for business. During these COVID-19 times, lots of us are also using it in new ways – maybe to have virtual birthday parties or coffee mornings with friends. I even know someone who recently had a Zoom bridal shower!
Zoombombing
One of the concerns regarding the use of Zoom has been “Zoombombers”.
When I came across that word, I had to take a second look to try and figure out what it might mean. Sort of like “photobombing”, Zoombombers crash other people’s video calls. Sometimes even going as far as sending files to, or sharing screens with, every participant in a call. As you can imagine, those aren’t just recipes for chocolate chip cookies that they’re sharing.
Zoom has reacted and put some settings as automatic that previously had to be manually switched on. However, like any service you use online, it’s always a good idea to go through your own settings and make sure you’ve got things set up as securely as possible.
Enable your zoom waiting room
For those of us who tend to use Zoom for smaller calls, one little tweak should do the trick! Even without the threat of Zoombombers, this is a good idea. Particularly if you use your personal meeting room link for all your meetings… How awkward would it be if your next client jumps on the call when you’re still talking turkey with another client?
The waiting room does exactly what it says on the tin. It puts people wanting to join a call into a waiting area, and the host needs to actively click a button to let them onto the call.
Since you know exactly who you’re expecting to join you on a call, you simply don’t allow anyone else to leave the waiting room.
Remove permissions for participants
For anyone using Zoom to host large groups and where you can’t necessarily rely on screening the waiting room 100% effectively (although you might be able to tell if an email address is looking suspicious or out of place), you can do a few other things:
- Password protect your meetings and request that attendees don’t share the meeting password, either
- Make sure that participants are not permitted to share screens
- Make sure that participants are not permitted to share files
- Mute all participants on entry
- Once everyone is in, lock your meeting to prevent anyone else from getting in
- A host can also disable any participant’s (or all participants’) video
- Don’t use your personal meeting room ID for large calls
Check out Zoom’s own information on this subject for more in-depth instructions on how to Zoom more safely.