Protect Yourself From “ZoomBombing”
What is Zoombombing?
Zoombombing is when an unauthorized person or stranger joins a Zoom meeting/chat session and cause disorder by saying offensive things and even photobombing your meeting by sharing inappropriate images.
What can you do to protect yourself?
As the meeting creator and host, you have access to settings and features you can use to further protect yourself and your meeting participants from Zoombombing. Here’s a quick list of recommendations:
- Use a password. Zoom has changed the default setting, but you still have the option for over-riding the default in your own meetings. We recommend you always use a meeting password, and edit the meetings you’ve already created to add a password.
- Do not use your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) or Personal Link for classes or meetings. Every Zoom account has a Personal Meeting ID (PMI) and Personal Link. This is a “permanent” link that routes directly to you. We recommend you treat your PMI and Personal Link like you do your house – invite sparingly, and schedule new meetings for classes and meetings. Learn more about Personal Meeting ID and Personal Link here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362843-Personal-meeting-ID-PMI-and-personal-link.
- Lock the meeting – when appropriate. When everyone you expect to join your meeting is present, you have the ability to lock the meeting, which prevents anyone else from joining. Read more about this setting, and other ways you can manage meeting participants, here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005759423.
- Resist enabling “join before host.” When you create a meeting, you have the ability to enable an option called “join before host.” This allows other people to join your meeting before you start it. We recommend using this option carefully. Read more about this here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/202828525-Join-Before-Host.
- Use a “waiting room” – when appropriate. When you create a meeting, you have the ability to enable an option called “waiting room.” This option places ALL participants, except for hosts, into a waiting room; hosts can admit people waiting in the waiting room either individually or all at once. People waiting in the waiting room do not see each other and cannot interact with others in the waiting room or in the meeting. This is ideal for things like Virtual Office Hours and Advising Sessions. Read more about the waiting room here:https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115000332726-Waiting-Room.
- Disable file transfer. Zoom has the ability to transfer files to all participants, using the chat window. We suggest you turn it off for your meetings unless you know you will use it. Read more about this feature and how to disable it here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/209605493-In-Meeting-File-Transfer.
- Disable automatically turning on host and participant cameras when scheduling meeting. When you create a meeting, you have the option of enabling or disabling meeting participants’ cameras automatically turning on when joining the meeting. We recommend you disable this feature. Participants can still choose to turn their own cameras on.
- Learn more about managing participants. Disruption doesn’t always happen by uninvited participants – sometimes, even the people you’ve invited into a meeting can become disruptive. As the host of a meeting, you have many options available to you for managing meeting participants, such as turning off participants’ cameras, muting all participants, putting participants on hold, and removing participants from the meeting. We suggest you take the time now to familiarize yourself with all the management features available to you, and practice before you have to use them. Read more about these features here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005759423-Managing-participants-in-a-meeting.
Please let us know if you would like assistance with following these recommendations, or have other questions about the Zoom service. We’re happy to help in any way we can.