How to Use the Security Tab

IMPORTANT: It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to keep your Zoom client up to date and check periodically for updates! If you cannot update to the newest Zoom version, please reach out to the IT Service Desk at itservicedesk@montclair.edu.

In a previous Zoom update (4.6.10, released on April 8th, 2020), a Security tab was added that can be accessed from within a Zoom meeting. This security tab allows you to perform a number of tasks, such as:

Locking a Meeting
- This will prevent any new attendees from joining. The meeting can be manually locked after a certain grace period you determine (such as 5 minutes after a meeting begins). The meeting can also be unlocked if desired.
Change Permission for Chat, Screensharing, Renaming, and Annotating.
- These settings can now be turned on or off much quicker during a meeting.
- Disabling chat will disable it as an option for meeting attendees.
- Disabling screen sharing will prevent attendees from sharing their screen at any time during the meeting.
- Disabling renaming will prevent attendees from changing their name as it appears on the "Manage Participants" area of the meeting.
- Disabling annotation during shared screen prevents attendees from making annotations while a host's screen is being shared.

How to Change Zoom Account Settings for All Meetings

Note: This information comes as an extension of the recommendations on Zoom's blog post titled "Best Practices for Securing Your Zoom Meetings"

To change settings globally for your account, please log in to Zoom via the Zoom portal, accessed at montclair.zoom.us. Once logged in, click on the "Settings" tab on the left-hand side of the screen to view meeting settings.

The settings page from montclair.zoom.us

There are a number of settings available to you when you visit this page (which when turned ON will have a blue background and a white circle to the right), broken up by sections (Scheduling, In Meeting [Basic], In Meeting [Advanced], etc.). We recommend changing the following settings to ensure the smoothest Zoom experience for you and your students:

Schedule Meeting:
- Join Before Host: OFF
- Use Personal Meeting ID (PMI) when scheduling a meeting: OFF
In Meeting (Basic):
- Private chat: OFF
- Play sound when participants join or leave: ON, Heard by host only
- File Transfer: OFF
- Screen Sharing: ON and HOST ONLY (This can be changed within the meeting if student presentations are anticipated)
- Annotation: OFF
- Allow participants to rename themselves: OFF
In Meeting (Advanced)
- Virtual Background: OFF
- Attention Tracking: ON
- Waiting Room: ON
- Allow Live Streaming Meeting: OFF

Remember to Change Your Meeting Password for Reoccurring Meetings

It's a good practice to change the meeting password from time-to-time in order to ensure that the meeting is secure, especially if you have reoccurring meetings set up.

If you've set up reoccurring meetings, it's a very good idea to change your meeting password periodically in order to ensure the meeting is secure. You can change the meeting password for a meeting by clicking on the meeting topic (which appears on the "Upcoming Meetings" tab in blue text), then scroll down toward the bottom of the Meeting Details page to find the "Edit this meeting" button.

Recommended Meeting Settings When Scheduling a Meeting

Some recommendations for setting up your meeting are as follows:

Registration: (OFF)
- Leave this option OFF unless you plan on inviting non-MSU guests to the meeting. MSU-affiliated users will have their information filled out for them.
Require Meeting Password: (ON)
- Leave this option ON to help secure the meeting to only individuals you invite, such as your students or an approved guest.
Video Options: (ON)
- Leave Host and Participant both turned ON; this allows you and your students to join with the webcam enabled. The camera can always be disabled during the meeting.
Audio Options: (BOTH)
- Use BOTH. Zoom allows users to both connect using their computer microphone and/or via telephone using a phone number; this is useful if students are able to see video but cannot hear audio or respond using their microphone.
Enable Join Before Host: (OFF)
- This allows students to enter the meeting space before the host has arrived, similar to entering a physical classroom before the professor arrives.
Mute Participants Upon Entry: (ON)
- Leave this option ON to mute the microphone of users upon entering the meeting; they can unmute themselves at any time.
Enable Waiting Room: (ON)
- This creates a virtual waiting room that attendees will wait in before being allowed into the conference. This may be useful for holding office hours to allow one student in at a time.
Only authenticated users can join: (OFF)
- At this time, there is no strong recommendation to use this option.

Recommended meeting settings