‘Zoombombing’ is the new way to troll online. Here’s how to protect your video chat
Students and workers beware — online trolls have found a way to infiltrate your Zoom video chats as more people use the web platform to engage in work and learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s called “Zoombombing.”
The University of Southern California sent out a letter to its community, apologizing after trolls took advantage of Zoom’s screensharing feature and displaying “racist and vile language that interrupted lectures and learning,” according to the Los Angeles Times. USC also posted information about Zoombombing on its website shortly after the incident, including a definition of the term and methods to prevent it.
USC’s website defines Zoombombing as “a new form of trolling in which a participant uses Zoom’s screensharing feature to interrupt and disrupt meetings and classes.” Trolls will Zoom-bomb online meetings by bombarding attendees with disturbing pornographic and violent imagery, according to ZDNet, a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive.
Another Zoombombing incident happened during the WFH Happy Hour video chat, a popular daily public Zoom call hosted by The Verge reporter Casey Newton and investor Hunter Walk. Trolls screenshared pornographic videos on the call, according to TechCrunch, an online publisher focused on the tech industry. Efforts to remove the trolls were thwarted after the perpetrator rejoined the video chat using a new screen name, TechCrunch said.
So, how do you prevent a Zoombombing?
Zoom released a guide that explainshow to restrict your public video chat. The host of the video chat must manually change the settings of the call by clicking the arrow next to “Share Screen” in the host controls on the bottom of screen, Zoom said.
Then click “Advanced Sharing Options” and change the setting under “Who can share?” to “Only Host,” and close the window, according to Zoom. Users may also lock the “Screen Share” by default for all your meetings in your web settings.
If your chat is “Zoombombed,” you can remove participants by hovering the mouse over the user’s name, and in the options that appear, click “Remove” to kick them out of the meeting.
