How to Handle a Zoom Bombing:
(uninvited participants disrupting and vandalizing the virtual meeting room)
Recommended Best practices:
- Each meeting secretary should claim the host responsibilities by entering a host key or pin as soon as they log into the meeting.
- Ask someone to serve as a CO-HOST and make that person a co-host. It’s helpful for regular chairing activities (such as for re-muting people who forget to do that) and also you will need the help FAST if a “Zoom Bomb” situation comes up. Here are some recommendations on how to handle a “Zoom Bomb”:
- Enable the waiting room feature-it is located in the “Security” icon which appears after host is claimed.
- The hosts needs to accept those in the waiting room to enter the zoom meeting.
- Anyone can be removed from a Zoom meeting by clicking on their name and remove them or send them back to the waiting room.
IF A MEETING CHOOSES NOT TO HAVE A WAITING ROOM:
- SUSPEND PARTICIPANT ACTIVITIES by clicking on the “Security” tab on the Zoom toolbar. Then Click on the red “SUSPEND PARTICIPANT ACTIVITIES” button at the bottom of the drop-down menu. Then Click on SUSPEND – This will:
a. Lock the meeting so no one new can enter.
b. Enable the waiting room.
c. Hide profile pictures.
d. Disable Share Screen.
e. Disable Chat.
f. Disable the ability for people to rename themselves.
g. Disable the ability for people to unmute themselves.
h. Disable the ability for people to turn on their video
- Open the participants list, SELECT DISRUPTIVE PEOPLE, click “MORE” and then “Put in Waiting Room.” We recommend this over “Report” or “Remove” people as you may be moving quickly and don’t want to accidentally report or remove a fellow from entering the meeting again
- ENABLE PARTICIPATION ACTIVITIES ONCE AGAIN
Once the room seems clear of uninvited participants, you need to click on “Security” again and:
a. Unlock the Room (click “Lock Room” to uncheck it).
b. Allow Profile Pictures (click to uncheck it).
c. LEAVE THE WAITING ROOM TURNED ON FOR THIS MEETING.
d. Turn on Chat (click “Chat” and a checkmark will appear).
e. Turn on Rename Themselves (click “Rename Themselves” and a checkmark will appear).
f. Turn on Unmute Themselves (click “Unmute Themselves ” and a checkmark will appear).
g. Turn on Start Video (click “Start Video” and a checkmark will appear).
- You may ask all remaining participants to start their video to verify they are intended participants in the room.
- Report the Zoom Bombing to your Intergroup via email. Please include details (meeting, time, when the zoom bombing began, and other relevant information.) More information is available here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360041848151