How to Secure Your Zoom Meetings

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Method A: Proactive Security (Settings Before Your Meeting)

The best way to manage your meeting is to secure it before it even begins. When you are scheduling your meeting (either in Canvas or on the FAU Zoom Web Portal), consider the following settings.

  • 1. Enable the Waiting Room (Highly Recommended)

    • What it does: This feature acts as a virtual lobby. Participants cannot join the main session until you, the host, manually admit them. This gives you complete control over who enters.
    • Best for: Classes, office hours, and any meeting where you want to verify each participant.

  • 2. Require FAU Authentication

    • What it does: This is a powerful feature that requires participants to be logged into an active FAU Zoom account before they can join.
    • How to set it: When scheduling, find the "Security" options and check the box for "Require authentication to join." Make sure the dropdown is set to FAU Accounts.
    • Best for: Any meeting intended only for FAU students, faculty, and staff.

  • 3. Use a Passcode

    • What it does: This requires participants to enter a password before joining. Zoom enables this by default on most new meetings. It provides a good baseline level of security.

  • 4. Avoid Sharing Links Publicly

    • What to do: Share your meeting link directly with your intended audience. If you are teaching a class, post the link in a secure location like a Canvas announcement.
    • What to avoid: Never post a meeting link on a public website, social media, or other public forums.

Method B: In-Meeting Security Controls

If a disruption occurs despite your precautions, or if you simply want to lock down the meeting once it has started, use these real-time tools.

  • 1. Use the "Security" Button in the Toolbar

    • In your host toolbar at the bottom of the screen, click the Security icon. This gives you a quick-access menu for many of the most important in-meeting controls. (Image: Screenshot of the Zoom toolbar with an arrow pointing to the "Security" icon.)

  • 2. Lock the Meeting

    • What it does: Once all your expected participants have arrived, click Security and then Lock Meeting. No one else will be able to join, even if they have the link and passcode.

  • 3. Manage Participant Permissions

    • From the Security menu, you can quickly control what participants are allowed to do. You can disable their ability to "Share Screen," "Chat," and "Unmute Themselves." For classes, it is a good practice to have participant screen sharing turned off by default.

  • 4. Remove a Disruptive Participant

    • If someone unwanted joins or is being disruptive, you can remove them permanently.
      1. Click the Participants button in the toolbar to open the participant list.
      2. Hover over the name of the person you want to remove and click the More button.
      3. From the dropdown menu, select Remove.
    • Important: A user who has been removed cannot rejoin the meeting.
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