Zoom tips: How to make video conferencing safer

If you are working from home like us and use a video conferencing app, you might have heard about Zoom. The app, which was once touted for its easy-to-use interface, is now often used alongside terms like 'hack' and 'privacy' in headlines. That's because last month Zoom, which already has millions of users worldwide, was hacked or 'zoombombed', leaving many agitated and leaving the platform for an alternative service.

In the past few weeks, Zoom fixed several security and privacy loopholes but still has a lot to do before it gains back users' trust. If you are already using Zoom and are concerned about its security features, here are some tips to keep video calls safe and private.

Password protect your meetings

Protecting your video calls is important and there's nothing better than password protecting it. You can prevent unwanted attendees from entering the meeting by setting a password for individual meeting, user, group or account for each session. This option can be found in the Settings tab, under the 'Require a password when scheduling new meetings' option.

Also read: Zoom not a safe platform: MHA issues advisory on usage of the app

Lock your meeting

Once the meeting begins, it is possible to lock the session, preventing others from joining-in randomly. You can access this feature by navigating to the 'Manage Participants' tab followed by 'More' and 'lock' once everyone has joined the session. This will prevent outsiders, who have the meeting IDs, access the session randomly.

Also read: How to keep your Zoom meetings safe: MHA guidelines

Afterall it's a personal Zoom ID and you don't want it to go public so anyone can use it to hack-in to different sessions. So, we recommend you to always go for a randomly generated ID for meetings when creating a new event. You can even hide your IDs from the screen so nobody can take a screenshot and share it publicly, revealing your Zoom ID to everyone.

The 'Waiting Rooms' feature is always helpful

Finally, use 'Waiting Rooms' feature in Zoom to screen the participants before you add them in a session. You can admit the attendees one by one or approve them to join all at once. This can be enabled from the Account Management section.