Secure your Zoom meetings

As we continue to use Zoom during COVID-19, we wanted to share some tips for hosting a more secure Zoom meeting. The University’s default settings for Zoom enable easy collaboration and communication for the University community and its partners. However, some Zoom sessions require more restrictive controls. As a meeting host, you can change the default settings before and/or during a meeting.

Access Security Settings

On April 8, Zoom released a new way to access existing security settings during a meeting. After updating your Zoom client, a shield icon, labeled Security will appear in the dock at the bottom of the meeting screen when you are the host or co-host (participants will not have access to this feature).

Instructions: Securing Your Zoom Meeting

You can either read the instructions on how to secure your Zoom meeting or watch a brief demonstration.

• Read instructions on how to Secure Your Zoom Meeting before it occurs, while you are meeting, and after it is over.
• Note: the “only authenticated users can join” feature disables anyone that is outside of the University of Minnesota from joining the meeting. This will not impact access to system campus attendees.
• Watch a brief demonstration of In-Meeting Tools to Secure your Zoom Meetings.

Address Disruptions

As a result of the increased use of Zoom meetings globally, they have become a target for meeting hijackers. In many cases, they seek to cause disruption by posting or sharing inappropriate comments, images, or videos. In the event that an unwanted guest joins your Zoom meeting, you can take immediate action:

• Lock your meeting. The Zoom host settings allow the host or co-host to lock the meeting after all the expected participants have joined. Click the Security icon and select Lock meeting.
• Note: If one of your participants leaves the meeting (e.g., their internet connection fails) after you have locked the meeting, they will not be able to rejoin unless you unlock the meeting.
• Remove a participant or put on hold. If someone is disrupting your meeting, remove them from the session. Click on the Participant icon. From the participant pane, hover over the name of the disruptive participant. When the menu appears, select Remove. Another option is to put them on hold, during which time the attendee cannot see, hear, or share anything.
• Restrict screen sharing. Click the Security icon to uncheck screen sharing permissions.
• Disable chat. Click the Security icon and click the checkmark next to chat to disable participants’ ability to use the chat function.

If you found this information helpful and would like to receive emails regarding enhancements to Zoom, join the Zoom-News Google Group. Additionally, if you are a frequent Zoom user, you may want to bookmark the Zoom Help Center for help documentation. Remember, ASR also has its own Virtual Meetings Guide, which includes instructions for setting up Zoom and other helpful resources.