Tag: Desktop/Laptop

Internet trolls are crashing Zoom video conferences and flooding them with inappropriate content. Here are some ways to stablize your meetings and keep Zoom running smoothly.

This if for a PCs and Macs browsers and smartdevices that support Zoom

1. Close All Running Apps

Before you start your video conference call or join the on-line meeting, save your work and close all running apps. Too many open apps will slow down your computer while you’re on a video call. This is because the call requires a lot of resources, especially if you’re on a lightweight laptop.

2. Check the Speed of Your Browser

Before your call, use a speed test tool, like Fast.com or Speedtest.net, to test your internet speed. If you’re not getting enough speed, move closer to your Wi-Fi router or try some other tips to boost your Wi-Fi signal. You can also use one of these tools to speed up your internet connection. Minimum bandwidth is 600 Kbps (up/down) and recommended is 1.5 Mbps (up/down). You may need to call your internet service provider and/or upgrade your equipment, which would be the best choice, if your equipment does not meet the minimum.

If you run both programs, you will notice a signifance difference in the speed test. This is due to the time of day you run the test, servers they are using and its location. Hopefully, your equipment exceeds the minimum speed for a Zoom meeting.

Below are my results in running Speedtest for Windows (Note that I greatly exceed the minimum):

3. Test Your Audio and Video

You can also launch a test Zoom meeting anytime at zoom.us/test.  This will launch a meeting where you are the only participant (you can invite others).  This option lets you test your audio and video even if you don’t have the Zoom app installed.

See the article Joining A Test Meeting in the Zoom Help Center for more information about using the using the Zoom Test Meeting feature.

4. Mute Yourself When Not Speaking

When you’re in a video meeting with a lot of participants, it’s best to keep yourself muted. Only unmute yourself when you need to speak.

This eliminates any background noise on your end. Also, if anyone walks in the room and starts talking while you’re on a call, you won’t have to rush to find the mute button.

5. Never Use Your Personal Meeting ID

Each Zoom user has a personal meeting ID; think of it as your Zoom phone number. When creating a meeting, you can use your personal ID or generate a random one. You should always generate a random meeting ID.

If your personal meeting ID is leaked to the web, Zoom trolls are free to harass you with calls whenever they please. 

6. Always Use a Meeting Password

For a video meeting other than a large classroom, town hall or lecture meeting, passwords should be turned on. 

Make sure the password is kept safe. Zoom sends meeting passwords out to all invitees when invitations are sent. If you’re worried that someone unwanted may get the password, create the meeting without one set, update the meeting to add a password and send it out to invitees in a separate email or via another form of communication.

7. Set Join the Waiting Room Option

When you enable the waiting room for a Zoom meeting, each user who connects is put in a queue that the meeting host has to approve. If you don’t recognize someone in the waiting room, simply don’t let them in.

To enable this feature, navigate to Settings > In Meeting (Advanced), scroll down till you see the following option and toggle it to the On position. See below image:

8. Set Meeting Options

Under Meetings > Schedule a Meeting, set the following options:

1. Video > Host to On
2. Video > Participant to Off especially if your participates are using older equipment
3. Audio set to Both
4. Meeting Options set Emable waiting room to On. Set Record the meeting automatically on the local computer should only be set to On for the host. You don’t want each particpant to be recording and viewing at the same time. If a participate wants a recording, the host can send the video via email or some other form of communication.
5. Always Save you changes. Refer to following image:

9.Turn Off Screen Sharing

Zoom trolls need to be able to visually take over a meeting to be effective. Preventing anyone from sharing their screen aside from the meeting host stops them from being able to go on the attack.

Under Settings > In Meeting (Basic), scroll down till you see the Show Zoom windows during screen share and set the following options:

1. Screen sharing, toggle to On
2. Who can share, toggle Host Only to On
3. Who can share when someone else is sharing, toggle Host Only to On
4. Always Save your changes. Refer to below image:

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Why take notes during a Zoom meeting when you can refer back to a recording of the entire call? Here’s how to record a Zoom meeting, whether you’re the host or not.

Important meetings need good records, and anyone who has taken notes knows that some details can be missed. The best way to preserve a record of a meeting is to have a video recording.

 That goes doubly for remote meetings, where distractions, tech issues and other problems can lead to you missing out on essential information.

If you are using an Enterprise account to host a meeting, you may not be able to record a Zoom meeting unless your IT team has given you permission. Be sure to check with your administrator before the meeting to grant you access if you don’t have it.

If using a PC or Mac, be sure your computer has a microphone and/or camera to use Zoom to its fullest. You may also use your smartphone to record the meeting.

This if for a PC, Macs, iPhone/iPad and Android devices that support Zoom

Accessing Zoom Settings

First, fire up Zoom and join an active meeting. Then click on your small profile photo in upper right-hand corner. This will open up the dialog options window. See below image:

Recording a Zoom Meeting

Next, click on the Settings option. The Settings options will be displayed. The Record video during screen sharing option should be checkmarked. Also, at the top of the screen is the location where your video will be stored upon completion. This folder was created when you installed Zoom. Refer to below image:

By default, only the meeting host can record the meeting, but it’s easy to grant other participants the ability to do so. The meeting host can do so by clicking on Participants while in a meeting, looking for the More button next to an individual’s name and selecting Allow Record. 

Once in a meeting, those wanting to record only need to click the Record button to start capture, at which point the Record button will change into two buttons: One to Pause the recording and one to Stop recording.

When you’re done recording video, Zoom stores it temporarily in the location mentioned above. The video is encoded into MP4 format once the meeting has ended.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.