SAFE AND SOUND?

Since its surge to widespread renown in early 2020, Zoom has—entirely predictably—come under scrutiny and attack from a number of sources, be that political organizations or individual griefers. Security issues were quickly exposed and patched in a hurry, but many users still have concerns about the safety of Zoom connections.

Zoom expanded so rapidly that it became an immediate target; early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, British prime minister Boris Johnson was involved in a public gaffe when he posted a screenshot of a virtual UK government meeting over Zoom, but crucially forgot to hide the meeting ID and usernames of the participants. No matter how secure the program, human error is always the biggest danger to digital security, so be careful.

One way to reduce the risk of using Zoom is to access it through a secure browser like DuckDuckGo, rather than downloading the Zoom app. The browser version of Zoom can only act within the confines of your browser and is beholden to any security features built into that, limiting the amount of potential damage that could be caused if hackers attempt to pilfer your personal data. Early issues with the desktop app have been ironed out now (including one particularly disastrous vulnerability that allowed hackers access to the webcams of Zoom users on Macs), but it’s always best to err on the side of caution.

Windows Defender can regularly scan your system for threats in Windows 10, and does a better job of doing so than many paid antivirus solutions, so be sure to make good use of it if you’re now dealing with sensitive business information on your home computer. If you have to make video calls but are wary of being observed, simply unplug your webcam from your PC when you’re not on a call.

It’s a rather simple, low-tech solution, sure, but it’s also undeniably effective.