Prevent Zoom Security Issues in Very Simple and Easy Steps

Today, at the time of quarantine and self-distancing the use of video calls including the Zoom has skyrocketed. Among all the video calling apps The Zoom meeting app is one of the major video calling apps that are being used across the world. People are using the Zoom meeting app to communicate across the world to manage their businesses.

People are widely using Zoom for remote education and other necessary purposes. In the meanwhile, the people are criticizing the Zoom for zoom security issues and other concerns.

In the recent crisis, the number of Zoom users has surged unexpectedly from 10 million to 300 million. It seems that Zoom developers were not ready for such a huge number of users. Therefore, they could not redress the privacy and security issues properly.

Recently Zoom has been the main target of cyber-attacks like Zoom bombing in which an unwanted user could join the meeting and interfere with the zoom meeting.

In the past, Zoom has also compromised privacy by sending the personal data to Facebook and using the camera of MAC without the user’s permission in the Zoom meeting app for MAC.

All these problems led many companies including Google to avoid the Zoom Meeting App completely. Admittedly the Zoom has taken many security steps for the protection of user’s privacy but all these don’t seem to be sufficient.

However, regardless of all these problems, sometimes, we cannot avoid the Zoom meeting app to connect with friends and businesses due to its large ecosystem. In that case, we should take proper steps for security and privacy protection.

Here are some essential security measures to use the Zoom meeting app.

Use the Latest Version of Zoom

Zoom has taken many steps for the protection of privacy and security in its recent version. So, it is highly recommended to make sure that you are using the latest version of Zoom meeting app.

These steps include the launching of waiting room features, meeting encryption (though it is not end-to-end encryption), and the option to prevent screen-sharing.

As previous versions of the zoom app are more liable to the security threats, it is a good idea to keep the Zoom app version up to date to resolve some security issues.

Use a Strong Password

To ensure the protection of users’ privacy, it is necessary to use a strong password and two-factor authentication for the Zoom meeting.

If your meetings are password-protected, no one will be able to join without the password even after knowing the meeting ID. So, enabling and using a strong password is of great importance for the privacy protection on Zoom.

Enable Waiting Room Feature

The recent versions of the Zoom offer the waiting room feature where a participant remains in the waiting room until the host of the meeting grants the permission to join the meeting.

This works as a checkpoint so that any stranger may not be able to join the meeting. Therefore, for the recent concerns about zoom bombing, it is an essential feature to use against such threats.

Avoid Sharing Meeting ID on Social Platforms

Recently Zoom bombing has been the major issue with the Zoom meeting app where any stranger could join the meeting. You must always avoid sharing zoom meeting ID so that any third person may not be able to possibly join the meeting without the consent of the host.

Lock the Meeting

When whole the participants of the meeting have joined the zoom meeting, it is necessary to lock the meeting by using lock the meeting option so that no one may join the meeting even after knowing the meeting ID and password.

This feature protects the privacy and security in the Zoom meeting. So, it’s a good idea to use this feature whenever it is possible.

Be Careful about Screen Sharing

In the previous version of the Zoom app, we would see Personal Meeting ID (PMI) right about the toolbar. So, in case of sharing the screen with anyone could compromise our privacy by revealing this Personal Meeting ID.

However, in the latest version, we don't see personal meeting ID above the toolbar but screen sharing is still not a good idea as it may lead to many other privacy threats.

Admin or host of the meeting can enable or disable the screen sharing option for the participant. So, in any sensitive case, it is better to disable the screen sharing option.

Use Web Version if Possible

Any app installed in your computer can access your data as it gets the consent only once (mostly during the installation of the application).

But the web version of the application doesn’t have certain permission as it remains in the sandbox. Therefore, it is a good idea to use the web version for these security reasons.

Do Not Discuss Private Matters

Although Zoom is using an encrypted connection, it is not encrypted from end to end. This means that the connection is encrypted from only one end i.e. the whole meeting data is still accessible by zoom employees and other security agencies.

So, we should never discuss your data or trading detail on the Zoom meeting app as it is still accessible.

Wrapping Up

Nowadays, we are indeed facing a lot of security threats and vulnerabilities. But it does not mean that we should avoid video calling at this time of crisis.

We should enjoy these videos unless we discuss any private matter. So, instead of over-confusing about these threats, we should enjoy all of the video calls on Zoom.

However, we must think about our privacy when it comes to our business or personal information and taken steps to prevent zoom security issues which has been suggested by the Zoom.