Sourced from Zoom Security Guidance @ UC Berkeley (my alma mater!) AI assistance from Claude.
Securing Zoom for Village Meetings
A step-by-step guide for the Village Clerk
Prepared by Trustee Uku · April 2026
What happened and why. The recent Board meeting Zoom disruption was possible because the account’s admin-level settings allowed participants to share their screens — the default was set to “All Participants.” It’s an easy fix: change 6 settings at the admin level and lock the critical ones so they can’t be overridden per-meeting. No upgrade or additional subscription is required.
1. Accessing the Admin Settings
Step 1. Open a browser and go to zoom.us/signin. Step 2. Sign in with the Village’s Zoom account. Step 3. In the left sidebar, click Settings . Step 4. You are now in the admin settings panel. Changes made here apply to every meeting created from this account.
Note: You will need the login credentials for the Village Zoom account. If you don’t have them, the account holder can also perform these settings changes.
2. The Six Settings to Change
Make each of the following changes in the Settings panel. After changing each one, click the lock icon next to it (if available) to prevent it from being changed per-meeting.
| # | Setting | What to do | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waiting Room | TurnON. Participants land in a holding area until the | |
| host admits them. | Security | ||
| 2 | Screen Sharing | Set toHost Only. This is the single most important | |
| change — it prevents anyone but the host from sharing | |||
| content. | In | ||
| Meeting | |||
| (Basic) | |||
| 3 | Mute on Entry | TurnON. Everyone joins muted. | Schedule |
| Meeting | |||
| 4 | Participant Video | TurnOFF. Participants join with cameras of by default. | Schedule |
| Meeting | |||
| 5 | Meeting Chat | TurnOFF. Public meetings don’t need a chat function. | |
| If someone wants to speak, they raise their hand. | In | ||
| Meeting | |||
| (Basic) |
Village of Red Hook — Zoom Security Guide for Public Meetings
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6 Meeting Passcode
Turn ON . Requires a passcode in addition to the meeting Security link. The passcode can be embedded in the link for convenience.
Lock it down: After changing Screen Sharing and Waiting Room, click the lock icon next to each. This prevents these settings from being overridden when scheduling individual meetings. These two settings are the ones that matter most.
3. Scheduling a New Meeting
Generate a fresh meeting link for each Board meeting. This prevents old links from being reused by bad actors. Or good ones who’ve simply been cast in a bad movie.
Step 1. Sign in at zoom.us/signin with the Village Zoom account. Step 2. Click Schedule a Meeting (top right). Step 3. Fill in the title (e.g., “Board of Trustees Meeting — May 11, 2026”), date, and start time. Step 4. Under Security , confirm that Passcode and Waiting Room are checked. Step 5. Under Alternative Hosts , enter the backup host’s email (e.g., francesuku@redhookvillage.gov). Step 6. Click Save . Step 7. Copy the meeting link and passcode. This is what gets posted on the Village website and included in the agenda.
Tip: Do not reuse meeting links from previous meetings. A new link each time is a simple, effective layer of security.
Backup Host. When scheduling each meeting, designate an Alternative Host. This ensures a second person has full host controls during the meeting — including the ability to remove disruptive participants, lock the meeting, and manage the waiting room — in case the primary host is unable to act. To set this: when creating the meeting in Zoom, scroll to the Alternative Hosts field and enter the email address of the designee. For the first meeting, you can specify Frances Uku (francesuku@redhookvillage.gov). Future designees may be any Board member who is comfortable with the tech, and happy to serve.
Village of Red Hook — Zoom Security Guide for Public Meetings
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4. During the Meeting: Host Controls
Even with the right defaults, the host has additional tools available during a live meeting:
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Admit from Waiting Room | Participant panel → clickAdmitnext to each name (orAdmit All) |
| Mute a participant | Participant panel → hover over name → click microphone icon |
| Remove a participant | Participant panel → hover over name → clickMore→Remove |
| Unmute a participant | |
| (for Public Comment) | Participant panel → clickAsk to Unmutenext to the speaker’s name |
| Lock the meeting | Security button (bottom toolbar) →Lock Meeting |
| (no new participants can join) | |
| Disable participant chat | Security button → uncheckChat |
| Stop a participant’s video | Participant panel → hover over name → clickMore→Stop Video |
5. Managing Public Comment on Zoom
During public comment periods:
-
Announce that virtual attendees who wish to speak should use the “Raise Hand” button (found in the Reactions menu at the bottom of the screen).
-
Call on raised hands in order.
-
Click “Ask to Unmute” next to the participant’s name. They will receive a prompt to unmute themselves.
-
Ask them to state their name and, if a Village resident, their address.
-
When they’re done, mute them (or they can mute themselves).
This mirrors the in-person process: make yourself known, state your name, speak when called upon.
6. Recording
To record the meeting:
Step 1. Click the Record button in the bottom toolbar.
Step 2. Choose “Record to the Cloud” (if available on your plan) or “Record on this Computer.”
Step 3. A red dot and “Recording” indicator will appear. All participants are notified. Step 4. To stop, click Stop Recording in the toolbar.
Step 5. Cloud recordings are available in your Zoom account under Recordings . Local recordings save to your computer (typically in a “Zoom” folder in Documents).
Village of Red Hook — Zoom Security Guide for Public Meetings
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Legal requirement: Under the Board’s videoconferencing procedures (adopted April 10, 2023, Section 8), meetings conducted using videoconferencing must be recorded, posted or linked on the Village website within five business days, and remain available for a minimum of five years. Recordings shall be transcribed upon request.
7. Quick Reference: Before Every Meeting
Pre-meeting checklist (2 minutes):
🗸 Screen sharing set to Host Only? (Should be locked at admin level)
🗸 Waiting Room enabled?
🗸 Mute on entry enabled? 🗸 Passcode set?
🗸 Meeting link posted on Village website and agenda?
🗸 Recording — remember to hit Record when the meeting starts
8. Getting Help
Phone walkthrough (about 10 minutes):
Frances can walk you through all six admin settings over the phone while you’re logged into the Zoom portal. Once they’re set and locked, they don’t need to be touched again.
We can also do a test meeting together — you host, Frances joins as a participant, and we confirm the Waiting Room, muting, and screen sharing restrictions all work as expected.
Village of Red Hook — Zoom Security Guide for Public Meetings
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