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"Zoombombing" is a new form of trolling in which a participant uses Zoom’s screensharing and chat features to interrupt and disrupt meetings and classes. Below are some strategies you can use to prevent and manage "Zoombombing" attempts in your virtual meetings.
If you need to hold a public meeting (where the Zoom link will be shared publicly) please contact IT if you are unsure the best method to use when setting up the meeting.
The best way to prevent "Zoombombing"
The best way to prevent Zoombombing is to use the Bowdoin authentication profile which is setup by default for faculty accounts. If your meeting only requires that people in the Bowdoin community join, this is the method you should use. This forces anyone that joins the meeting to have a Bowdoin account, or they will not be able to connect. The setting can be found when scheduling meetings in the screenshot below:
As long as that checkbox is on and the dropdown is set to a Bowdoin account, only community members that log in will be able to access the meeting.
The second best way to prevent "Zoombombing"
A second way to prevent "zoombombing" if you need to include guests (i.e. people without Bowdoin accounts) is to use the waiting room feature. This feature is turned on by default for all accounts. This feature will place anyone that attempts to join the meeting into a space where you can approve who enters. Anyone with a Bowdoin account can sign in and they will not be required to sit in the waiting room and you would not have to approve their entry. Anyone without a Bowdoin account would have to be manually approved to enter the meeting.
The setting in the screen shot below must be checked when setting up the meeting:
This functionality is secondary to the authentication profiles. If you turn on the Bowdoin authentication profile, there won't be a waiting room, even if the checkbox is checked. This is expected behavior.
A final way to help prevent "Zoombombing"
The last way to help prevent "zoombombing" is to ensure a meeting password is set. This setting should always be used in conjunction with the waiting room, at a minimum. This setting is turned on by default for all accounts. Unless you need to hold a public meeting, a password should be enabled. The settings for a password should also be verified prior to setting up the meeting, which can be seen in the screen shot below:
