TU Today

Today: new Zoom default security setting for TU meetings and class sessions

Effective today, there is a university-wide Zoom default meeting setting to help reduce unin­­­vited attendees and Zoombombing. This means each TU Zoom meeting booked on or after Jan. 11, will automatically only admit TU NetID authenticated users (TU students, faculty, and staff). However, non-TU guests like lecturers, transcribers, outside vendors, etc., can also attend if you select a different security option when booking the meeting. These are the three new TU Zoom meeting security options:

• ­­TU NetID Authenticated Users Only­ –will apply to TU meetings by default and limits attendees to TU account holders only. This recommended and secure option is ideal when inviting TU students, faculty, and staff only, and they must be logged in through their TU Zoom account to be admitted.
• TU NetID or Other Zoom Authenticated Users– select this less secure option when scheduling to open the meeting to anyone with a Zoom account (TU Zoom account holders and non-TU invitees with accounts). No Zoom account means no access to the meeting.
• No Authentication required–this is the least secure option and is applied by unchecking the box “Require Authentication to join.” Opens the meeting to anyone (TU Zoom account holders and non-TU invites with and without personal Zoom accounts).

What you need to know

• How you attend TU Zoom sessions isn’t changing. TU attendees must still be logged into meetings through their TU Zoom accounts.
• TU NetID Authenticated Users are TU NetID holders with edu and students.towson.edu email addresses. They “authenticate” by using their NetID to log into TU’s Zoom account.
• Waiting Rooms apply by default to meetings that allow non-TU invitees.
• Be sure to confirm types of invitees (especially non-TU) when booking TU Zoom sessions to make sure they can attend based on the security setting you’ve selected for the meeting. When inviting non-TU account holders, double check the setting before existing meetings to avoid last minute issues.
• The new default setting doesn’t automatically apply to meetings that were set prior to Jan. 11, including recurring meetings and Zoom personal meeting rooms. This means you’ll need to confirm/edit settings of previously set meetings.

Resources

Visit www.towson.edu/zoom for more Zoom resources including how to select the appropriate authentication setting when scheduling meetings. If you have questions about using Zoom at TU, contact the OTS Faculty/Staff Help Center or Student Computing Services. Report Zoombombing to TUPD.

Categorised in: General

This post was written by Weldon, Jennifer