This guide provides detailed instructions for ensuring that your public meetings hosted on UW Zoom are secure.

Key points:

• Purchase Zoom Webinar (most secure).
• Know which settings to use when scheduling a public meeting (see below).
• When using Zoom Meetings, use Host tools during the meeting to limit participant activities:
  • Restrict screen sharing, webcam, microphone, and other participant activities.
  • Ensure that these restrictions are in place before allowing participants into any public meeting.

Read on to learn how to create secure public meetings. 

Most Secure: Zoom Webinar for public meetings and events

Webinar allows you to host public events where users are view-only, which means that only hosts and panelists can use screen share, video and voice. Attendees are view-only participants. By contrast, a meeting in UW Zoom  provides a collaborative space where everyone can see one another, hear one another, and each individual participant can share their screen. The Webinar is best when you want to do a one-way push or presentation to a large audience. 

• Information about Webinar from the UW Zoom FAQ
• Learn more about Webinar from Zoom
• Webinar options, pricing, and the UW Zoom add-on order form

Less Secure: Zoom Meetings

By default, participants in a meeting in UW Zoom are not limited to viewing only. To secure a public meeting in UW Zoom, the meeting host must take extra steps before and during the meeting to secure a public meeting. 

Before the meeting

• When scheduling the meeting:

• • Clear Enable join before host to prevent participants from joining the meeting until a Host or Alternative Host arrives.
  • Check Require Authentication to Join to ensure all participants are logged into a Zoom account. Learn more about the Require Authentication to Join option.
  • Check Waiting Room to allow the meeting host time to secure the meeting before allowing participants into the meeting. 
  • Check Require meeting passcode to require passcode authentication when users enter the meeting. Passcodes can be up to 10 characters. By default, the meeting invitation will include the passcode for participants, as well as a Join Meeting link that will enter the passcode automatically for invited participants. These settings can be changed in your User Settings in the Zoom web portal at washington.zoom.us.
  • Add the UW NetIDs of any designated persons who might co-host the meeting in the Alternative Hosts field. 

During the meeting - using Host Tools

When the meeting host first arrives to the Zoom meeting, participants from the public should be in the waiting room. DO NOT admit anyone from the public into the meeting without first disabling participant activities from the Host Tools menu. 

Immediately after starting the meeting, in the Meeting Toolbar, open Host Tools and un-check all participant activities. Enable Q&A for meeting hosts to field questions from the public.

 

The Host Tools Menu should look like this when you are done:

You are now ready to admit the public from the waiting room and start your meeting. 

What to do if the meeting is attacked:

• From the Host tools menu, click Suspend participant activities. 
• From the participant menu, remove and report the participant to Zoom.
• Submit a Zoom Security Report 
• Learn how to report a meeting participant to Zoom
• Contact UW Safe Campus
• Contact UW-IT Help
• If the meeting URL was posted on the public web, remove the meeting URL from the webpage. 
• Do NOT reuse the meeting. Schedule a new meeting for future public meetings.