TABLE OF CONTENTS



Overview

As of early 2020 Zoom has been the target of “Zoombombing,” where participants join public Zoom meetings solely to disrupt them by screen-sharing extremely inappropriate content as soon as the Host stops screen sharing.  This article details preventative measures to be taken by ISOC staff to block this kind of activity


Note: Please update your zoom client immediately, if you have not done so already, to the current version 5.3.1. You will need to be on that version in order to take advantage of the best practices below.  



Before Meeting

Personal Settings: Limit Screen Sharing to Host & Co-Host  

The sure-fire way to prevent Zoombombing on meetings is to limit screen-sharing only to Host and Co-Host, nominating those individuals well in advance of the call.  If it’s critical to allow other individuals to screen-share, we recommend promoting that attendee to co-host (refer to 'During a Meeting: Promote a participant to co-host' below).

 

  1. Navigate to zoom.us and log in 

  2. On the left-hand menu under 'Personal', click 'Settings', then click 'In Meeting (Basic)' 

  3. Scroll down to 'Screen Sharing'

  4. Modify the 'Who can share?' setting: 

    • By default, All Participants in a meeting have the option to share their screen.  
    • To limit screen sharing to Host-only, click on the 'Host only' radio button. 


  5. Click 'Save' 



Schedule Meeting: Recommended Meeting Roles & Preferences 

This section presents recommended meeting roles and meeting preferences for Zoom meeting. One individual tasked with executing the meeting and simultaneously overlooking its security is discouraged.  We encourage the formation of a team of two or more individuals, each designated a clear role in order to ensure the smooth flow of the meeting as well as its security. 


Meeting TypeDescription
Small MeetingMeetings where all participants are known, e.g. internal team meetings, a small group of stakeholders.
Audio and video capabilities for invitees
Large MeetingPublic, external-facing meetings that may have more than 100 anticipated attendees e.g. InterCommunity
Audio and video capabilities for invitees
WebinarPublic, external-facing meetings that may have more than 100 anticipated attendees
Chat and Q&A interaction for invitees.  Screen sharing and audio only for Panellists.

For a full comparison of Large Meeting and Webinar, refer to this post



Meeting TypeRecommended RolesRecommended Preferences
Small Meeting 
  • Host
  • Co-Host (Alternative Host)
  • Meeting ID: Generate Automatically
  • Enable Waiting Room
Large Meeting
  • Host
  • Co-Hosts (Alternative Hosts) e.g.
    • Presenters
    • Mute Ninjas (2 - 4 people)
    • Chat Monitors
    • Meeting Recorder
    • Stenographer
    • Interpreters

  • Meeting ID: Generate Automatically
  • Mute Participants on entry
  • Require meeting passcode
  • Require registration via MemberNova or Zoom Registration
Webinar
  • Host
  • Co-Hosts (Alternative Hosts) e.g.
    • Panellists
    • Chat Monitors
    • Meeting Recorder
    • Stenographer
    • Interpreters

  • Meeting ID: Generate Automatically
  • Mute Participants on entry
  • Require meeting passcode
  • Require registration via MemberNova or Zoom Registration


Note: As of September 27th, 2020, Zoom requires that all meetings have a Passcode or a Waiting Room enabled.



RoleDescription
Mute NinjaA person appointed with the task of surveying participant video and audio. The mute ninja ensures that the participant is not showing inappropriate content in their video and mutes the participant's microphone if the participant audio disrupts the meeting.
Chat MonitorA person appointed with the task of overseeing the ongoing chat conversations. The Chat monitor shares the Code of Conduct with Chat users. If any participant violates the rules of engagement, the Chat monitor removes the participant from the meeting.

Before removing the participant, the chat monitor must notify the user that he/she has violated the rules of conduct in chats. The moderator reserves the right not to inform the user of their violation in some instances where the user explicitly insults another user (users) or floods the chat with links.



During Meeting


In-Meeting Security for Hosts and Co-hosts

During a meeting, the host and co-hosts have a panel called 'Security' which allows them to quickly find and enable Zoom’s in-meeting security features.  

 

 

 

By clicking the Security icon, hosts and co-hosts have an all-in-one place to quickly 

  • Lock the meeting 

  • Enable the Waiting Room: which allows the host or co-host to control who can enter the meeting room and when. 

  • Restrict the participants’ ability to: 

  • Share their screens 

  • Chat in a meeting 

  • Rename themselves 

  • Annotate on the host’s shared content 

  • Note: This option is available for selection once you have started screen sharing 

 

How to remove attendees from a meeting 

  1. In the Zoom meeting toolbar, click ‘Participants’ 
     

  1. In the Participants Panel, locate the participant and hover your mouse over their name to reveal the ‘More’ menu 

  1. Click on ‘More’ and select ‘Remove’ from the drop-down menu 

 


Note: If you have not locked the meeting or do not have a waiting room enabled, then people removed from the meeting may be able to rejoin. This is why we recommend locking the meeting.  

 


Promote participant to co-host 

When you limit screen sharing to hosts and co-hosts, meeting attendees cannot share their screen. If they try, they will see the following message:  

 

If you would like to give an attendee screen sharing privilege at any point during the meeting, you must promote the participant to co-host.  

Note: If you promote a participant to full‘Host’, you will transfer your host status to them and you will have participant status.  Generally promotion to co-host is preferred.


 

  1. In the Zoom meeting window, Click 'Participants' 
  2.  In the Participants Panel, locate  the participant and hover your mouse over their name to reveal the 'More' menu
  3. Click on 'More' and select 'Make Co-Host' from the drop-down menu 
  4. The participant will be notified that they are co-host