What is Zoom Bombing?

Bombing refers to the unwanted, disruptive intrusion, generally by internet trolls and hackers into a video conference/meeting. In a typical Zoom-bombing incident, a teleconferencing session/meeting is hijacked by the insertion of materials that are lewd, obscene, racist, or antisemitic in nature, typically resulting of the shutdown of the session

How do you prevent zoom bombing & keep uninvited guests out? Adhere to these security tips to ensure that the classroom meeting session will not be interrupted by unwanted guests.

1. Don’t publicly share meeting links.

Only share meeting links with the people meant to be in the meeting. Don’t share them on public platforms like Facebook or Twitter. Ask students not to share links as well.

2. Create a waiting room.

Managing meeting participants is key: by enabling the waiting room feature, participants can’t get into the meeting until you — the host — let them in.

3. Secure a meeting with a password.

For an added layer of protection, secure your meetings with a unique password. When participants go to enter the meeting, they’ll need both the meeting link/ID and password in order to gain access.

Remember: only share passwords with meeting attendees. Please do not share them publicly.

4. Lock your meeting.

Once all the expected participants have joined, it’s easy to lock your meeting to prevent anyone else from getting in. To do so, click “Participants” at the bottom of your Zoom window. In the pop-up box that appears, click “Lock meeting.”

5. Require participant authentication.

Zoom’s authentication feature allows hosts to restrict the participants who can join their meeting to those logged into Zoom. If a participant isn’t signed in, or is signed in with an email address different from the one that received the meeting invitation, they won’t be able to get in.

How to Enable Authentication Exception for Guest Speakers

How to add to a new meeting:

1. Sign in to the SMCCD Zoom Web Portal.
2. Schedule a meeting.
3. Under Meeting ID, select Generate Automatically.
4. Under Security, select the checkbox next to Require authentication to join.
5. Next to Authentication Exception, click Add.
6. Enter the guest participant’s name and email address.
7. (Optional) Click Add Participant to add more exceptions.
8. Click Save.
9. Choose your other meeting settings, then click Save to schedule the meeting.

How to add to an existing meeting:

1. Sign in to the SMCCD Zoom Web Portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Meetings.
3. Locate the meeting you want to add an authentication exception to, then click Edit.
4. In the Edit Recurring Meeting dialog, click either Edit This Occurrence or Edit All Occurrences.
5. Next to Authentication Exception, click Add.
6. Click Add Participant.
7. Enter the guest participant’s name and email address.
8. (Optional) Click Add Participant to add more exceptions.
9. Click Save.
10. Modify any other meeting settings as needed, then click Save.

💡 Things to Remember

• Email Accuracy: The guest speaker must use the exact email address you entered.
• Meeting Link: Send the guest speaker the meeting link and remind them to use the correct email in Zoom.
• Check Your Settings: Review everything to avoid any problems during the meeting.

Explore more best practices for securing your Virtual Classroom →