Zoombombing

Zoombombing, LEAP Managed IT helps Indianapolis
Keep your Zoom meeting safe from Zoombombing

Zoombombing! With the increased number of users on Zoom, hackers have been targeting the platform, hijacking meetings, taking control of screens, displaying inappropriate images and disrupting with unkind words. If you now use Zoom to communicate with your team, partners or clients, make sure you are taking precautions. We’re here to help!

Steps to protect your meetings from Zoombombing:
  1. Use a unique ID for your Zoom meeting. One way to prevent Zoombombing is by using a unique ID for your Zoom call instead of using your Personal Meeting ID. Zoom gives each user a Personal Meeting ID and once it is out there, anyone can use it to try to hack your meetings. It is better to generate a new code for each meeting. To do this, click on “”generate automatically” under the Meeting ID tab in the meeting settings. Don’t give out your Personal Meeting ID to anyone.
  2. Require a meeting password. By requiring users to punch in a password to attend your meeting, you make it a lot harder for outsiders to get in. You can easily create a password by checking the box next to “require meeting password.” Note that this feature only works when you use a unique meeting code so be sure to also check “generate automatically” next to your meeting ID.
  3. Create a waiting room to monitor attendees before the start of the meeting. Zoom allows you to create a waiting room for your meetings. Essentially, this is a space where attendees can chat with each other before the meeting starts. This is also a great time to monitor who is in attendance, giving you the chance to remove people from the meeting before anything important starts. You can create a waiting room in the meeting settings.
Additional Tips:
  1. Know how to remove someone from a meeting. It is always best to prepare for the worst. If Zoombombing disrupts your meeting, know you can remove them instantly. Do this by going to the participants panel in the right of the screen, hovering over the person’s name and clicking ‘remove.’
  2. Lock a meeting when it starts. If all your participants are in the zoom meeting room, prevent outsiders from joining by locking the meeting when it starts. You can do this by clicking “manage participants” > “more” > “lock meeting.”
  3. Only allow hosts to screen-share. If someone hijacks your meeting, the last thing you would want is for the ‘Zoom-bomber’ to control your screen. Prevent this by only allowing the host to screenshare. Go to your Zoom account > “Personal” > “In Meeting” > “Screen Sharing” > “Host Only.” You can also do this through the meeting settings.
  4. Mute audio and disable video for all attendees. If you do not need attendees to interact, the safest way to ensure you will not have problems with zoom-bombers is to take away video and audio capabilities from everyone but the host. You can disable participants’ cameras and microphones in the meeting settings.

Have additional questions?Visit us at leapmanagedit.com.  Send us an email at info@leapmanagedit.com or interact with us on social media and we will do our best to answer them.

Patrycja Thomas

Author: Patrycja Thomas

Fortune 500 sales and marketing veteran dedicated to helping small businesses change the world with technology.