Zoom

Zoom Conferencing

Using Zoom:

• User Guide – comprehensive guide to Zoom (free version). [Downloadable PDF]
• Participant Guide – simple guide for participating in a Zoom meeting. [Downloadable PDF]

Useful tips when attending or conducting a Zoom meeting:

1. Always Mute Your Microphone Unless Speaking:
   Make sure to mute your microphone when you’re not speaking. This eliminates any background noise or interference in the audio. To mute your microphone, use the microphone button at the bottom left of the Zoom toolbar that appears in the meeting screen. Alternatively, you can set your Zoom meeting preferences to mute your microphone at the start of every meeting automatically. To unmute yourself, use the microphone button or hold your spacebar for as long as you’re speaking. This basic rule allows group meetings or conversations to run smoothly!
2. Inform Participants Before Recording The Meeting:
   Before you record any audio or video conference, make sure that all meeting participants are (a) aware that they are being recorded, and (b) have permitted you to record them. You could even take this permission in writing or record it at the start of the meeting. Why? Not only does this maintain common courtesy, but it may be required by consent laws and regulations in many companies and regions.
3. Ensure Everything Is Working Correctly Before Starting A Meeting:
   It’s extremely common for video conferences to be delayed or get interrupted due to technical snags. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, turn on your device and check if Zoom’s working correctly at least 10-15 minutes before every meeting. And if something’s going wrong, alert your meeting host at the earliest (if you’re the host – inform your participants of the same). While conducting a check before every meeting may feel tiring, it’s far better than being embarrassed or annoyed when something goes wrong during your Zoom meeting!
4. When screen sharing, the “optimize option” is especially useful when sharing YouTube and other online videos as it can prevent distortion, lagging, and buffering issues.
5. Meeting times: If you are experiencing connection issues at peak times, consider scheduling a meeting at times other than on-the-hour or on a half-hour.
6. Test your audio and video as you join – particularly relevant for hosts!
7. Use a USB-connected headset – they give a better hearing and speaking experience, particularly if there is background noise where you are.
8. If hosting, connect from a large screen – this gives you more “”space” for seeing participants, screen shares and the chat session.
9. Breakout Rooms: — availble on paid for versions only
   A Guide To Starting With Zoom Breakout Rooms – a more comprehensive guide on the topic from Online Tech Tips.

The Canvas (a US seminary organisation) provides a concise Best Practices guide for both Hosts (Instructors in their parlance) and (Remote) Participants.

Zoom GateCrashers – Prevention and Dealing with:

When software is popular, scammers come out of the woodwork to try and find a way to capitalize. Zoom is no different; the appearance of scammers jumping into unprotected meetings and posting malicious links and pornography has given rise to the phrase “Zoom-bombing.”

The problem has become common enough for Zoom to publish a guide on how to prevent gatecrashers from disrupting your meetings, including pointers such as:

• Keep your meeting links off social media
• Choose “only host” for screen sharing control during a meeting
• Use the “lock” feature to prevent random users from joining in. You might also want to consider using the Waiting Room.
• If you are gatecrashed, hover over the user’s name in the Participants menu to bring up a “remove” option

Personal Cyber Secruity Advice centre

Following email scam attacks on BACC, we share with you a few resources to help protect yourselves against ‘phishing’ email scams and general I.T. security good practice on a personal level.

• “Don’t Get Hooked” – A guide to determining if an email is genuine or a ‘phishing’ scam
• “You are a Target” – A guide describing all the ways attackers will use the data they harvest from you
• “Creating a Cyber Secure Home” – A guide of 5 fundamental steps to take to make your home more cyber secure

Alongside the above, here are to informative web pages to you understand and practice cyber security:

• 10 Ways to Avoid Phishing Scams – 10 practical steps to take when using email and websites
• How Phish-prone Are You – A fun quiz to help to how cyber security aware you really are!

Phishing.org is a website dedicated to helping people understand email scamming, so called ‘phishing’, and is well worth looking through to help increase your understanding.