Secure Video Conferences
Video conferences are becoming more and more important in our professional lives. On this page, you will find helpful advice on how to use video conferencing tools, which will help you to communicate securely when making telephone calls and holding virtual conferences. As the available tools differ in their setup, you might not be able to apply each piece of advice to every tool. Please look at the respective possibilities and follow our guidelines wherever possible.
For hosts:
Credit: Anna Logue
- Activate waiting room function: Participants will not join the meeting automatically, but need to be let in by you first.
- Protect meeting with an access code: This only allows those participants to join who received a corresponding access code from you beforehand.
- You are also a participant: Of course you should also consider the following tips for participants.
For participants:
- Do not pass on access codes: If you received a link or access code for a meeting, you should not pass this on without prior consent by the host.
- Verify other participants: By regularly checking the list of participants, you can verify that no unwanted visitors are in attendance of the meeting. In some programs, you can lock the meeting from further access once all participants have joined.
- Careful when sharing your screen: Always keep an eye on the information you are displaying when sharing your screen with other participants. They should only be able to see the information and applications needed for the respective meeting.
- Check environment: Make sure that no other people are in the room or around you when holding or attending confidential meetings. In case you are using a webcam, please ensure that no confidential documents are visible to your communication partners.
Credit: Elisa Berdica
- Mute microphone: Deactivate your microphone whenever you are not speaking. That way you can avoid that the other participants hear any private conversations or confidential phone calls on your end.
- No recordings: Please do not record any meetings.
- Leave the meeting: Not all programs end video conferences automatically for everyone. You should therefore make sure to leave the meeting yourself once it has ended. Otherwise, other people might enter the meeting without you noticing and watch you or eavesdrop on your conversations.
- Cover your webcam: Whenever you are not using your webcam, you should cover it with a suitable cover or post-it note. That way you can prevent unwanted recordings and unintended flows of information.
Video conference tools of the University of Mannheim
We recommend only using the tools provided by the university. For more information about the communication tools offered by the University IT, please visit the UNIT website or contact the IT Support.