Securing Your Web Conference Meeting

The following information can help secure meetings by configuring what features are available to attendees and what controls are in place to ensure only the intended audience can join.

(Note: The ability to configure certain features may vary between web conference tools)

Preparing for the Web Conference

Take the time to practice and familiarize yourself with meeting controls and security settings in Zoom and MS Teams. Learn how to mute and remove individuals from the meeting and adjust settings during a live meeting.
Learn more about the different roles and privileges for MS Teams and Zoom
DO NOT post the meeting link and connection details on social media or web pages.
Information for connecting to a virtual or hybrid class should only be shared in Canvas or directly to the students via email.

Scheduling the Web Conference

Here are some options when scheduling

(Note: The ability to configure certain features may vary between web conference tools)

Require a meeting password

Managing Zoom Meetings passcodes
MS Teams meetings have passcodes assigned upon scheduling

Require registration

Disable forwarding in the meeting invitation

When scheduling a meeting in MS Teams you can enable/disable forwarding under “Details” > “Response options”
See these instructions to prevent the forwarding of meetings scheduled in Outlook
There is no direct way to prevent invitees from forwarding a Zoom meeting invitation

Use a Lobby or Waiting room, or disable the ability for people to join before the host

Disable screen sharing for attendees

Limit the ability to share with co-hosts/alternate host roles
Disabling desktop screen sharing in Zoom meetings
When scheduling an MS Teams meeting you can open “Meeting Options” > navigate to “Roles” > select who can present. For more information see Share content in Microsoft Teams meetings

Disable file sharing for attendees

This feature can be disabled in Zoom by logging into your Zoom account using a web browser, navigating to Settings > In Meeting (Basic) > adjust the toggle for File Transfer

Disable chat for anyone who is not a host or panelist

Review Meeting options in Microsoft Teams for information on managing in-meeting chat and Q&A
Enabling or disabling in-meeting chat in Zoom

Disable reactions

Manage reactions in Teams meetings and webinars
To turn off reactions in Zoom meetings, navigate to your account settings > scroll to In-Meeting (Basic) > toggle the options to enable or disable Nonverbal feedback and/or Meeting reactions.

Do not allow removed participants to rejoin the meeting

Follow these instructions for enabling/disabling allowing someone to rejoin a Zoom meeting
In MS Teams you can lock the meeting or enable a lobby

During the Web Conference

Additional features can be utilized while the meeting is live:

Prevent others from joining without permission by locking the meeting

Remove an attendee

Managing participants in a Zoom meeting
Managing attendees and panelists in a Zoom webinar
To remove a participant from an active MS Teams meeting, open the Participants tab > right-click on the name of the person you want to remove > select “Remove from meeting.” You should also lock the meeting so they cannot rejoin.

Put attendees on hold

Placing participants in the waiting room in Zoom

Disable video

Mute an individual or all participants

Get notified when someone joins the meeting

In Zoom: Log into your Zoom account on a web browser and navigate to Settings > In Meeting (Basic) > toggle on Sound notification when someone joins or leaves. Once on, there will be several options to further configure the setting.
Turn on or off entry and exit announcements for meetings in Microsoft Teams