If you’d never used or even heard of Zoom before the COVID-19 pandemic, you almost certainly have now by now. The teleconferencing platform has spiked in popularity as the pandemic forces business teams, offices, and other associations to meet  online instead of in person. Like any other online communications channel, however, Zoom can pose its share of challenges as well as solutions. Here are some things you should know about using Zoom in your work, courtesy of our Austin business tech support experts at Gravity Systems.

Zoom turns computer users into virtual meeting participants. A link to a scheduled Zoom conference leads each participant to a shared video stream; you can also dial in via phone. Participants have the option of either sending images through their computer/smartphone camera or participating through audio only. One individual can take up the central displayed image, or you can view everyone at once in separate video tiles. The meeting host can display PowerPoint presentations or other data for the entire group to view.

As wonderfully convenient as this arrangement sounds, you should also know about Zoom’s  potential for problems. When everyone jumped on the Zoom bandwagon in response to the coronavirus, the platform itself had not ironed out certain security and privacy bugs. Hackers could guess at a meeting’s ID number and jump in with disruptions, a practice called “Zoombombing.” There’s also some worry about user privacy and how the platform uses or distributes user data.

Most organizations can use Zoom without too much concern, but it always pays to protect your organization. Enable strong passwords for your Zoom meetings. Look through the new Zoom security options and use organization option in the Zoom control panel to lock Zoom hosts in your org to your perfered balance of security and ease of use.  Last but not least, contact us for expert advice on secure teleconferencing practices!