Zoom security and settings for webinars or events

Recommended Zoom account settings

To check the Zoom account settings, go to https://mcgill.zoom.us/, sign in with your McGill credentials and go to the settings tab in the left menu. Below you will find the recommendations TLS suggests to promote a successful and secure meeting.

	Feature	Recommendations			Comments
	Feature	Enabled	Disabled	Optional	Comments
MEETING (1^st tab)
Security
	Waiting room	X
	Waiting room options			X	Waiting room options and editing
	Require a passcode when scheduling new meetings	X
	Prevent participants from saving the chat			X
	Auto saving chats	X
Screen sharing
	Only host can share the screen	X			It is possible to change it during the meeting if needed.
	Only host can start sharing when someone else is sharing	X
Annotation		X
	Allow saving of shared screens with annotations			X
	Only the use who is sharing the screen can annotate			X	Recommended when the presenter won't interact with the audience using the annotation tool.
Whiteboard		X
	Allow saving of whiteboard content			X
	Auto save whiteboard content when sharing is stopped	X			Saved as .pdf or .png
Remote control			X
Non-verbal feedback		X
Meeting reactions		X
Join different meetings simultaneously on desktop			X
Allow removed participants to rejoin			X
Allow participants to rename themselves				X
Hide participant profile pictures in a meeting				X
Closed captioning		X
	Enable live transcription service to show transcript on the side pane in-meeting	X
Save captions				X
Language interpretation				X
Far end camera control		X
Virtual background				X	Recommended
Identify guest participants in the meeting/webinar		X
Join from your browser link		X
Allow livestreaming of meetings			X	X	Not enabled for the McGill Community.
RECORDINGS (2^nd tab)
Local recording		X
	Hosts can give meeting participants permission to record locally		X
Cloud recording				X	It is strongly recommended to record webinars locally. Meetings associated with a course can be recorded to the cloud and automatically sent to the lecture recording system.
Recordings
	Record active speaker with shared screen	X			Recommended
	Record gallery view with shared screen		X		Avoid enabling this feature to protect the identity of the participants.
	Record active speaker, gallery view and shared screen separately			X
	Record an audio only file			X	Recommended
	Save chat messages from the meeting	X
	Add a timestamp to the recording			X	Recommended for reference in the future.
	Display participants name in the recording		X		Avoid enabling this feature to protect the identity of the participants.
	Record thumbnail when sharing	X
	Optimize the recording for 3rd party video editor			X	Not recommended, size file will increase.
	Audio Transcript	X			Recommended
	Save panelist chat to the recording			X
	Save poll results shared during the meeting/webinar	X
Allow cloud recording sharing		X
Recording disclaimer		X
	Ask participants for consent when a recording starts	X			Recommended
	Ask host to confirm before starting recording		X

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Recommended Zoom meeting settings for external and internal meetings/events

After the account settings have been reviewed, it is necessary to create the meeting. External meetings should be created in https://mcgill.zoom.us/ and recorded locally. Lectures or events associated with a course can be created directly in myCourses and may be recorded to the cloud. However, the entire list of the zoom settings will be found in https://mcgill.zoom.us/. The table below lists the recommended settings for both internal and public events.

	Feature	Webinar/Public event			Internal meetings/class lectures
	Feature	Enabled	Disabled	Optional	Enabled	Disabled	Optional	Comments
Registration
	Required	X				X		Setting up registration for a meeting/webinar
Meeting ID
	Generated ID	X			X
	Personal meeting ID		X			X		Never create a public meeting with the personal ID.
Security								Prevents unwanted attendees from joining the meeting.
	Passcode	X			X
	Waiting room	X					X	Waiting room options
	Require authentication to join			X	X			Recommended for McGill-only webinars.
Video
	Host video off			X			X	It is recommended to have the host video on.
	Participants video off	X			X
Audio
	Telephone and computer audio	X			X			Allows participants to join by calling Zoom telephone numbers.
Meeting Options
	Allow participants to join anytime		X			X		Prevents participants joining before the host enters the meeting.
	Mute participants upon entry	X			X
	Breakout room pre-assign			X			X	Pre-assigning participants to breakout rooms
	Automatically record meeting			X			X	Local recording is recommended for public events. It is possible to manually start recording during the meeting/webinar.
	Approve or block entry for users from specific countries/regions			X			X
Polling options				X			X	Adding polling questions to a meeting
Live streaming			X			X		Not enabled for the McGill Community.

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Things to consider before starting the public webinar or event

Check to ensure Zoom is updated.
If the registered number of participants exceeds 300, email tls@mcgill.ca atleast 1 week before the event with the following information:
- Date of the event
- Purpose of the event
- Email address from which the event was created.
- Upgrade request (number of participants)
If possible, use wired internet or a stable wireless connection.
Test your video, audio and set virtual background if needed.
If co-hosts are needed, start the meeting 15 minutes before and assign the roles.

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Useful tools during the Zoom meeting

This symbol indicates features that are important to note for public events or webinars.

1. Unmute/mute and start video:

Audio Controls (click the ^ arrow next to Mute / Unmute) and access the full audio settings.
Video Controls (click the ^ arrow next to Start Video / Stop Video): Change cameras if you have multiple cameras, select a virtual background (if enabled), or access your full video settings.

2.

Security Icon:

Lock Meeting: Locks the meeting, keeping new participants from joining the meeting.
Enable Waiting Room: Enables Waiting Room for incoming new participants or to move current participants into the Waiting Room.
Hide Profile Pictures: Hide all profile pictures, including the host. Display names are shown instead.

Allow participants to:

Share Screen: Allows participants to share their screens.
Chat: Allows participants to use the chat function.
Rename Themselves: Allows participants to rename themselves from the Participants.
Unmute Themselves: Allows participants to unmute themselves without the host's permission.
Start Video: Allows participants to start their video in the meeting.
Suspend Participant Activities: Turn off all participant's video, audio, and ability to share their screen. Also, lock the meeting to prevent participants from joining. This will apply to all participants, including those joined using a Zoom Room.

3.

Manage participants:

Mute all participants at once or ask to unmute all.
Manage individual participants:
- Mute/turn off video: Allows you to turn off audio or video for a participant.
- Ask to unmute and Ask to start video: Sends a notification to the individual asking them to turn on their audio or video.
- Remove Participant: Allows the removal of a participant from a meeting. The participant can't re-join unless Allow removed participants to rejoin is enabled in Meeting settings.
- Report: Allows you to report a user to Zoom's Trust and Safety team. You will be able to select which user to report and provide details about the problem. You can also upload evidence, such as screenshots.
- Put in the waiting room: Allows you to move the participant into the waiting room.

4. Chat:

Save chat: Save all chat messages in a TXT file. Saved to the same location as local files.
Share file in meeting: Send a file in the chat.
Allow attendees to chat with: Control who participants can chat with.
- No one
- Host only
- Everyone publicly
- Everyone publicly and privately

Learn more about Zoom chat features.

5. Screenshare:

Basic: Share your entire desktop, specific application window(s), whiteboard, or iPhone/iPad screen.
When screensharing a video: check off “share sound” at the bottom-left corner once you click on Screenshare.
Advanced sharing options:
- One participant can share at a time.
- Multiple participants can share simultaneously.
Advanced: This option allows for sharing PowerPoint as the virtual background, a select portion of the screen, and other advanced content sharing. For more information, see the following article.
Annotate on Shared Content: Allows participants to annotate over content shared during the meeting. The host can enable or disable annotation when the host is sharing.

6.

Record: The recording location (cloud or local) must be set before the meeting using the meeting settings. Further, if automatic recording wasn't enabled before the meeting, this icon will start the recording. Once the recording is enabled, there will be the option to pause or stop recording. This may be helpful during private conservations in the webinar/meeting.

7.

Live Transcript: This feature must be enabled prior to the meeting using the account settings on the Zoom web portal. Click on Live Transcript to see the following options:

Enable Auto-Transcription (recommended option): Allows the system to start providing live transcription. This option is only available if enabled in web settings.
Assign a participant to type: Opens the participant’s window. Hover over the participant’s name and click More then Assign to Type Closed Caption.
I will type: Opens the closed captioning window for you to manually type closed captions.
Learn more about live transcription.

8. Breakout rooms:

Enable breakout rooms: ensure to enable breakout rooms before the meeting. There is also the option to pre-assign participants to breakout rooms.
*Note the limitations of breakout rooms.

9.

Reactions and Non-verbal feedback: Allow participants to use the reaction button to communicate and interact during the session. This feature must be enabled in account settings before the meeting. Learn how to manage non-verbal feedback.

10.

More: If you configure this before the event, it will only take one click to start live streaming. There is the option to live to stream to YouTube Live, Facebook Live, or Facebook Workplace.

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Useful tools after the Zoom meeting

View and access reports after the meeting

Usage: The Usage report option allows you to view a list of meetings, participants, and meeting minutes you have hosted.

You can search by date to find your meeting and below you will have a list of the meetings with the meeting details at the header of each column.

You will need to slide to the right side to see the hidden Participants column from which you can access a specific usage report. Once you click on the participant number (in blue) you will see a pop-up with the list of participants. This can be exported into an excel file. By checking off “show unique users,” it will compile all those participants who may have left the meeting and rejoined and not show repeats.

Meeting: The Meetings report option allows you to search for Registration reports and poll reports for a meeting. Select the type of report you need, search by a date range to find the meeting, and then click Generate.

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Quick links

Have a question that was not answered in this article? Visit our FAQs.

While this resource is accessible worldwide, McGill University is on land which has served and continues to serve as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. Teaching and Learning Services acknowledges and thanks the diverse Indigenous peoples whose footsteps mark this territory on which peoples of the world now gather. This land acknowledgment is shared as a starting point to provide context for further learning and action.

McLennan Library Building 3415 McTavish Street Suite MS-12(ground level), Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C8 | Tel.: 514-398-6648 | Fax: 514-398-8465 | Email: tls@mcgill.ca