Zoom meetings for class or collaboration can be protected in a variety of ways to limit attendance to the invited participants and to control participation as needed during the meeting.

Inviting your meeting participants

For classes, starting a Zoom meeting from within Canvas makes it much less likely that the meeting ID will be shared to uninvited guests. If you’re using Zoom for a class session, it is strongly recommended that you start the meeting from within Canvas.

• Creating Zoom meetings in Canvas
  

Inviting students to your course through the Zoom web portal or desktop client sends an email invitation to each student with the meeting ID included. This method provides an easily shareable link to the meeting that could quickly be sent to others without your knowledge. Once in a meeting, uninvited guests can listen in on discussions, capture screenshots of shared content, and even disrupt the meeting with unwanted video, audio, or shared content.

Participants attending by the phone call option will be identified only by their phone number.

Options for Managing a Meeting in Progress

The host of a Zoom meeting has many options to help manage participation by attendees and protect against unwanted participation.

Lock the Meeting

Zoom meetings can be locked after they have started to ensure no other participants can join. In order to do so, please follow these steps:

1. Once the Zoom meeting has started, select Security in the Zoom Task Bar at the bottom of the meeting.
2. In the menu that appears, select Lock Meeting.

A checkmark is now visible next to the option and this feature is enabled. Additionally, a notice will display to warn you that the meeting is now locked and no new attendees can join.

Block Name Changes

Zoom allows you to block the ability to change names and profile pictures of meeting participants.

1. Once the Zoom meeting has started, select Security in the Zoom Task Bar at the bottom of the meeting.
2. In the menu that appears, click Rename Themselves under Allow participants to.

Without a checkmark next to the option, the feature is now disabled.

Set Participants to Mute

Zoom allows you to mute single participants or mute all participants. You are also capable of muting individuals instantly upon joining the meeting.

Muting Individuals

1. Once the Zoom meeting has started, select Manage Participants in the Zoom Task Bar at the bottom of the meeting.
2. In the sidebar that appears, hover over the participant you would like to mute and select Mute.
   
   

Muting All Participants

1. Once the Zoom meeting has started, select Manage Participants in the Zoom Task Bar at the bottom of the meeting.
2. In the sidebar that appears, click Mute All at the bottom to mute all participants.
   
   

Muting Upon Joining Meeting

1. Once the Zoom meeting has started, select Manage Participants in the Zoom Task Bar at the bottom of the meeting.
2. In the sidebar that appears, click More in the bottom right.
3. In the drop-down that appears, select Mute Participants on Entry.
   Note:

   If you do not want participants to be able to unmute themselves, please be sure to uncheck Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves.

Limit Screen Sharing to Host

After you start a Zoom meeting, you can change the Screen Share settings to limit who can and cannot share their screen. In order to do so, please follow these steps:

1. Locate the Share Screen button and select the ^ button to the right of it.
2. Within the menu that appears, select Advanced Sharing Options…
3. A new window will appear, under the Who can share? tab, select Only Host.

Restrict Chat to Message Host Only

After you start a Zoom meeting, you can change the Chat settings to only allow messages to be sent to the host. This prevents meeting participants from engaging in side conversations during your meeting through the Zoom chat feature or posting offensive content. To limit chat to host only, do the following:

1. In your meeting, click the Chat icon.
2. Click the ellipsis (three dots) to the right of the To: field in the new message section of Zoom Group Chat.
3. Click Host Only under Participant Can Chat With.

Remove Unwanted Participants While in A Meeting

There may be times where you will need to remove a participant in your Zoom meeting. To do so, please follow the instructions below:

1. In your meeting, click the Manage Participants icon.
2. A list of the attendees should appear on the right.
3. Hover your mouse over their name until the More button appears. Click More.
4. You should see an option to remove the user. Once you confirm their removal, they will be removed from the meeting.

Restrict Participant Annotation

Zoom offers a whiteboard feature for meeting hosts and participants to collaborate using a virtual whiteboard. Restricting participant annotation prevents participants from using the shared whiteboard for your meeting and avoids unwanted messages from being displayed. To restrict annotation, do the following:

1. In your meeting, click the Share Screen icon.
2. Select Whiteboard from your options and click Share.
3. In the Zoom meeting toolbar at the top, click More.
   • This toolbar will auto hide at the top of the screen. To view the toolbar, place your cursor over the green box with the Meeting ID.
4. Click Disable Participants Annotation.

Stop Participant Video

Stop the participant’s video stream so they are unable to start their video. This option is only available during an in progress meeting and cannot be set while scheduling. To stop video, perform the following:

1. In your meeting, click the Manage Participants icon.
2. A list of the attendees should appear on the right.
3. Hover your mouse over their name until the More button appears. Click More.
4. Click Stop Video.

Additionally, disabling video is recommended for all participants in Zoom meetings with more than 20 participants. Participants with weak internet connections or slow network speeds, may experience trouble loading video for everyone and may lose connection to the Zoom meeting.

Additional Options to Secure a Meeting when Scheduling

These options will help protect your Zoom meeting from uninvited participants when you schedule the meeting. They may add time to getting a class or meeting started, however, as participants either use a password or wait to be admitted. That should be factored into the decision to use these features.

Require Authentication

As of September, 2020, it is required that all meetings have a waiting room or a passcode enabled for all paid accounts. This means that participants cannot join unless they either have a passcode to join the meeting, or if the meeting host manually allows the participant to join the meeting from the waiting room.

You have the option to require participants to sign in prior to joining your meeting. Only participants with an ISU ULID and password will be able to join your meeting and anyone outside of ISU will be locked out. Note that the require authentication feature must be enabled for your Zoom account and is only available when scheduling a meeting, not when starting a new meeting immediately. Information on how to enable this feature is available in the following article, How To Require Authentication For Your Zoom Meeting.

To require authentication for your Zoom meeting, please follow the instructions below.

Require Authentication When Scheduling a Zoom Meeting from the Zoom Desktop Client

1. Open your Zoom application and log into Zoom.
2. Click the Schedule icon.
3. Set your preferred meeting options.
4. Under Advanced Options, check Only authenticated users can join.
   • ISU login will appear by default in the dropdown menu under the setting. This should be left as is.
   • This will take effect once you officially start the scheduled meeting.
     
     

Passcode Lock Your Zoom Meeting

You have the option to password lock a Zoom meeting to hinder unwanted guests from accessing your Zoom meeting. It is recommended that you only share this password with those who will be attending the meeting, and to have a strong, secure password. Note that the password feature is only available when scheduling a meeting, not when starting a new meeting immediately. To set a password on your Zoom meeting, please follow the instructions below.

1. Open your Zoom application and log in to Zoom.
2. Click the Schedule icon.
3. Set your preferred meeting options.
4. Under Password, check Require Meeting Password.
5. You may notice that a password is set for you. We recommend changing the default password to something much stronger.
6. Once you have entered the preferred password, it will be set once you officially schedule the meeting. Users will be prompted to enter a password once the meeting participants join the meeting they were invited to. The password can be found in the meeting invitation.
   
   

Use a Waiting Room for Participants

When you require a waiting room for participants, this will force users to wait for approval before entering a meeting. This gives you, the host, the option to deny any unwanted participants and monitor those who are waiting to enter the meeting. To set up a waiting room, please follow the instructions below.

Set up a Waiting Room When Scheduling a Zoom Meeting from the Zoom Desktop Client

1. Open your Zoom application and log into Zoom.
2. Click the Schedule icon.
3. Set your preferred meeting options.
4. Under Advanced Options, check Enable Waiting Room. This will take effect once you officially start the scheduled meeting.
5. You will not see the participants who are waiting until they accept the meeting and join. They will first be “waiting” before being able to participate in the meeting.
6. To admit the participant into the meeting, click Manage Participants and hover over the name of the person waiting and click Admit.

Disable Zoom Cloud Recording Downloads

Zoom Cloud Recordings are able to be downloaded by default. It is possible to disable this on a per-video basis. In order to do this, the setting Viewers can download will need to be turned off.

1. Navigate to IllinoisState.Zoom.Us and select Sign In.
2. In the left-hand menu, select Recordings and then Cloud Recordings.
3. Select the Share button on the video you would like to turn downloading off on.
4. In the sharing menu that appears, turn off Viewers can download.

Additional Information

More information regarding how to manage Zoom meetings and additional steps may be found at: https://ctlt.illinoisstate.edu/online/meetings/

How to Get Help

Technical assistance is available through the Illinois State University Technology Support Center at:

• Phone: (309) 438-4357
• Email: SupportCenter@IllinoisState.edu
• Submit a Request via Web Form: Help.IllinoisState.edu/get-it-help
• Live Chat: Help.IllinoisState.edu/get-it-help