While social distancing is still in order, many are using Zoom for video conference calls and meetings. With the recent increase in Zoom’s popularity, hackers and trolls are taking advantage of the situation. Many are experiencing “Zoombombing” where unwanted users join a call and broadcast disruptive behavior. If you plan to use Zoom, we want to make sure you are being proactive in removing potential threats. The Miller Group has listed the best practices for Zoom to help you stay secure.
Best Practices:
- When you schedule a Zoom meeting, look for the Meeting ID options, and choose Generate Automatically. DO NOT choose “use personal meeting ID”. Doing so plugs up one of the biggest holes that intruders can exploit.
- Add a meeting password for every meeting (see green box in the figure above). Think of this as the key to your house- the meeting password is needed to keep your valuables secured, and prevent outsiders from being able to access your personal belongings. Without having a password, outsiders can enter a meeting with only the Meeting ID.
- For recurring meetings, it’s still recommended to use the same ID, but periodically change the password to keep outsiders from gaining access.
- Only share Meeting ID with intended participants. Don’t EVER share Meeting ID on social media.
- Set Screen sharing to “host-only”.
- Disable file transfer.
- Disable Private Chat. This keeps attendees from chatting with each other.
- Disable “Join before host”.
- Disable “Allow removed participants to rejoin”.
If you know you will be the only one sharing you should turn on Screen sharing to “host-only”. These settings will help this not happen but need your help and awareness of this.
What do I do if an unwanted guest appears during my meeting?
- Right-click on intruder’s image or left-click the ellipse (…) button on the intruder’s image and you’ll have these options.
- Mute
- Stop Video
- Remove
- Please also feel free to reach out to TMG for further assistance if needed
Privacy Policy
You should also take note that Zoom’s privacy policy includes video content, transcripts, and the right to collect data, store it, and share it with third parties. The data includes your name, location, usage information, recordings, files, and messages. Zoom is also no stranger to data breaches. Although it’s patched now, Zoom experienced a major software vulnerability last year.
Other Options
If you’re wondering if Zoom is still safe to use the answer is yes, with some caution. However, if you are looking for a safer and easier way to video conference, host live events, and communicate with your team, look into Microsoft Teams. You’ll find that Microsoft Teams is useful for your company even after the work from home order. We want to make your computer activities as worry-free as possible. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any additional assistance or information.
As our Chief Strategy Officer, Chris Roberts is committed to helping each and every one of our clients attain a higher standard of IT efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and optimization. He focuses on research and development in an effort to identify and harness the best IT practices for businesses.
