I keep hearing about zoombombing and people keep getting in touch with me, worried about the groups I'm running. I'm sure that no group is totally safe but I can share some of things I've learned as I go to keep your room a bit more secure. 1/?
Problem: Uninvited guests
1) The first and most obvious is don't post your links publically
2) When you're creating groups, there is an option to create a fixed zoom ID that can be used across sessions. For big one offs (like I do), it's better to pick 'generate automatically' 2/
1) The first and most obvious is don't post your links publically
2) When you're creating groups, there is an option to create a fixed zoom ID that can be used across sessions. For big one offs (like I do), it's better to pick 'generate automatically' 2/
3) If you have smaller groups (mine are too big for this really), you can pick 'enable waiting room' (see picture) which means everyone has to wait until you allow them into the main chat having verified their identity. 3/ 
4) Another safety step is to set up a meeting password that you need to enter. Again, that's on the meeting set up page. (Check 'require meeting password)
5) Lock the room. This shows you how.
5) Lock the room. This shows you how.
Problem: People are talking over the speaker
1) When you set up the meeting, you can choose to 'mute participants upon entry' (see picture). This generally helps with nose confusion as well when people are entering.
1) When you set up the meeting, you can choose to 'mute participants upon entry' (see picture). This generally helps with nose confusion as well when people are entering.
2) When you're already in the meeting, you can manually mute the room. Click on 'manage participants at the bottom' and you will see a screen like this. You can click 'mute all' on the bottom right under the participant list or click on an individual to mute them.
Problem: Inappropriate Images on screen
1) When you start the meeting, make sure you set it so that only the host can share their screen. Click on the upwards arrow beside 'share screen', click 'advanced options' and then 'only host' when it asks 'who can share'
1) When you start the meeting, make sure you set it so that only the host can share their screen. Click on the upwards arrow beside 'share screen', click 'advanced options' and then 'only host' when it asks 'who can share'
2) You can also set this up before starting the meeting, by going into 'settings' on your meetings page and picking 'basic options'. You can set it to 'host only' for screen sharing here as well.
3) Another issue that people have had is with students or bombers scrawling over the screen by using the annotations feature. Make sure to uncheck this also. Meetings page. Basic options. Annotations not enabled.
4) If you're being extra cautious, you might want to disable the 'virtual background' feature. Meetings. Advanced Options. Disable virtual background.
Disruptive element in the room
1) The main thing to do here is to eject this element from the room. You can do so when you're in zoom by once again going to 'manage participants' and turning off the camera, muting and ejecting the disruptive element.
1) The main thing to do here is to eject this element from the room. You can do so when you're in zoom by once again going to 'manage participants' and turning off the camera, muting and ejecting the disruptive element.
I hope these tweets have been helpful. If you have any further suggestions or questions, just bob them below!
Last tweet/Many tweets (I stopped numbering them - sorry!)
Last tweet/Many tweets (I stopped numbering them - sorry!)
