Best Practices to Secure Zoom Meetings

Virginia Tech users can defend against meeting interruptions by following these best practices for securing Zoom meetings:

• Sign in to Zoom through virginiatech.zoom.us (Participants who have not signed in will have “Guest” next to their name in the participant list and will not have access to host/co-host controls.)

• Restrict meetings to only authenticated members of the Virginia Tech community. Hosts can add individual non-VT email addresses as exceptions to allow captioners, guest presenters, and others to join the meeting while maintaining a high level of security.

• Use a waiting room or passcode to restrict outside access to the meeting.

• Never share a Zoom meeting URL or meeting number on social media, posters, or other public media. Instead, share a link to a Canvas page or GobblerConnect event where you can manage access, or require participants to register for the meeting in advance.

• Request a webinar license for events that need to be publicized.

• Change the meeting ID for a disrupted meeting. If it is a recurring number like a “Personal Meeting ID” or for a series of meetings, delete future meetings immediately, re-create them with a new number, and update calendar invitations.

• Become familiar with meeting host security controls. During a meeting, hosts/co-hosts can lock a meeting, remove uninvited attendees, and block inappropriate content by actively managing the participants.

Depending on the type of meeting and intended audience(s), some of these steps will be more effective than others. For more information, review the guidelines for securing Zoom meetings in the 4Help Knowledge Base. Additional guidance is available from Zoom.

For assistance with Zoom settings, contact 4Help.vt.edu.