Zoom: Tips for keeping meetings secure

Intended for:

Zoom meeting hosts

Scenario/Use case:

This article contains instructions on how to keep Zoom meetings secure

Instructions:

Posting meeting IDs and passwords on public websites:

You must not post Zoom meeting IDs, links or passwords on any public website (including in Indico and DocDB).

Preventing participants from screen sharing:

By default for all meetings, only the host, co-host or alternative hosts are allowed to share their screens. Hosts, co-hosts or alternative hosts may override this setting at the start of or during a meeting. You can learn about the differences between roles in this article from Zoom: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360040324512-Roles-in-a-meeting (Note: Not all features listed in this article are available for Fermilab account holders.)

Setting passwords to prevent unwanted participants from joining:

• By default, all new scheduled meetings beginning May 2 will require a password to join.

For those who send email/calendar invitations with the Zoom meeting link, an encrypted password will be embedded in the link, so participants do not need to type the password. (The link with the encrypted password will look something like this: https://fnal.zoom.us/j/95390384798?pwd=RytIMlZCVCtOSGhCTEVHZjAzdTAwUT09) Reminder: The embedded link or password must not be posted on a public webpage. 

Per meeting, you can assign a password, up to 10 numerals, letters or a mix of both. Here’s what the password field looks like when scheduling a new meeting from the Zoom client:

• In addition, after May 2, any meeting that was previously scheduled that uses a Personal Meeting ID (PMI) will require a password. If a meeting invitation with this information had been sent, the invitation will have to be resent with the encrypted embedded link.

To resend the invitation to your previously scheduled meetings using your PMI:

1. In the Zoom client, open the Meetings tab.
2. Select the upcoming meeting.
3. Click the Edit button. (Depending on your settings, you may see the ellipsis (…) item instead. If so, click the ellipses, then Edit



4. Click Advanced options and edit the meeting password if necessary.
5. Click the Schedule button

An email invitation, which includes a link with the encrypted password will open:

• Require a password for instant meetings. Default: this will be disabled, but the host can override.
  
  Instant and ad-hoc meetings will NOT require a password by default as long as you are not using your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) for instant meetings. However, if your account settings are configured to use a PMI, you will need to disable this setting if you wish to hold an instant meeting without requiring a password.
  
  To create an instant meeting in the Zoom client, click the New Meeting button. If you do not want your instant meeting to require a password, uncheck “Use my Personal Meeting ID (PMI)" in your Zoom client:
  
  
  1. Click the down arrow

• • Uncheck Use my Personal Meeting ID (PMI)
    
    

In-meeting security controls:

Zoom has recently introduced a security button to enable a host to secure the meeting as it is taking place. Read more in this Zoom article. NOTE: To use this feature, you must have the latest version of the Zoom client. Learn more in this article.

Other options to help prevent unwanted participants:

• Disable join before host. View these instructions in this knowledge article.
  
  
• Enable waiting room. This prevents attendees from joining a meeting until a host admits them individually from the waiting room. See instructions in this article.
  
  
  • All participants - Permits all participants joining the meeting to be admitted to the waiting room.
  • Guest participants only - Permits only participants who are not a Fermilab Zoom account holder or are not logged in to be admitted to the waiting room. If not logged in, they will have an option to log in.
    
    
• Lock meeting down once all participants are on. View this article from Zoom for more information and instructions.
  
  
• Mute all participants and do not allow them to unmute themselves. (This option is available for the host/co-host during a meeting). View this article from Zoom.
  
  
• Disabling profile pictures during meetings: View instructions in this article.
  

• Enabling password for instant meetings: View instructions in this article.
  
  
• Enabling require password for participants joining by phone. View instructions in this article.

See Also:

How to use the Zoom web conferencing service

See Also:

How to use Zoom web conferencing service