
Video conferencing, under the new “quarantine normal” is quickly becoming more popular for all of us as a means to stay connected, whether it’s for online school, work or to socialize with friends and family. ZOOM, in particular, has become the go-to video conferencing tool for such use by a great part of the population including many school districts and universities. Sadly, there’s a portion of the population that gets a cheap thrill from disrupting it jeopardizing our online safety and security.
A relatively new internet troll, Zoom-bombing has taken over video conferences with hateful images and vulgar screen-shares. Knowing about this potential harm and how to combat the hacker’s chances of accessibility is essential. In fact, never more than today has online safety and security been more important. A bit of diligence and time when setting up your video conference safely is key for keeping our kids and family members away from these hackers.
Here are a few host tips:
- Disable “Join Before Host”
- Enable “Co-Host” to assign extra moderators
- Disable “File Transfer” to stop digital viral sharing
- Disable “Allow Removed Participants to Rejoin”
- Enable the “Waiting room” feature
- Share meeting invites responsibly
- Use unique meeting IDs
- Require passwords for everything
- Make meetings/conferences invite-only
- Lock it once it reaches a certain number of people
These key precautions will keep you and your kids safe from hackers and you’ll be on your way to stress-free calls, classes, and happy hours.