Many of us work from home using Facetime, Skype, and Zoom to communicate with our coworkers and friends. Out of all of these, Zoom seems to be everyone's new favorite technology. Zoom was created in 2012 but did not gain popularity until 2020. Its popularity has skyrocketed because of the Covid-19, making it unsafe for people to work in their everyday office spaces.
In 2019 the Zoom application was only being used by 10 million users per year, but in March 2020, the start of the pandemic, Zoom users shot to 200 million. Now today, Zoom has over 300 million users each day. Also, about 100,000 schools use Zoom each day for their at-home learning experience. All of this is possible because Zoom is an easy-to-use face-sharing application that works via phone or computer. You can dial into a call by using your phone, or you can show your face using a camera attached to your computer screen. Their technology is so robust that a video call can have up to 1,000 people and have 49 people show their faces during that big call. This app also allows up to 100 people to join a Zoom call for free, making it accessible to anyone.
The History of Zoom
Eric Yuan is the creator and CEO of Zoom. One reason why he designed Zoom was that he had a personal dislike for Monday mornings. No one likes waking up on Mondays and going to work after a lovely long weekend. Zoom was supposed to be an outlet so that people could stay at home for the first couple of hours on a Monday and partake in work meetings via a Zoom call.
He created Zoom because he used to take a train for 10 hours almost every weekend to see his wife. Although he had great dedication to seeing her, he wanted to create an easier way for them to communicate without the hassle. But Eric had difficulty getting funding for his new invention because many investors felt like the video calls were already too overdone. However, through perseverance, he was able to obtain financing and launch his design in 2012. Many of us are using it every day to communicate with our coworkers. It has been a fantastic tool to keep us safe from coronavirus and prevent the number of cases from rising.
Security and Privacy Issues
It is hard to create an absolutely 100% foolproof form of technology, primarily when millions of people use it. Unfortunately, Zoom does not use a particular type of encryption referred to as "end to end," also known as E2E. Most video-sharing applications use this type of encryption to protect private calls. In other words, an end to end encryption is where only the active or invited users can read and see what people are saying in video chats. It is to prevent random people from coming into private chat rooms.
Researchers have reported that they could break into Zoom calls in half an hour, leaving 30 minutes left if the meeting hacked is an hour. As Zoom started to gain more in popularity, pranksters had started a new phenomenon called Zoom Bombing. Zoom bombing is where uninvited guests enter a Zoom call and start sharing images and inappropriate content that no one wants. These Zoom bombers are beginning to be called attackers. The New York Department of Education, Google, and even Taiwan have decided not to use and ban their workers and civilians from using Zoom. They are worried that a hacker could leak their personal information due to Zoom's newfound attraction.
How To Protect Yourself While Using Zoom
Zoom has created a two-factor authentication as a security option for its users to combat this security issue, called the 2FA. The 2FA makes it much harder for attackers to Zoom bomb you during your meetings, even if these attackers have your email and password attached to your Zoom account. If an attacker tries to log into your Zoom account from a device you have never used, the attacker will have to provide another source of their (your) identity, meaning that they physically would have to have your cell phone. To accomplish this extra step in securing your Zoom call, you have to provide the company with your telephone number (mobile). Then Zoom will send you a six-digit code through a text message or phone call. From there, you will type in that six-digit code to enter your zoom account. Zoom bombers are aware that a vast majority of the population uses Zoom to communicate now, which is why it is a smart idea to protect your accounts using 2FA.
How to Secure Your Zoom Account Using 2FA
- First, make sure that you have your mobile phone and computer nearby
- Log into your Zoom account
- Go to My Account
- Click on the button that says Profile
- Click on 2FA, which stands for Two Factor Authentication, at the bottom
- Click turn on 2FA
- Now go back to your Zoom profile
- Click Authentication App and type in your password
- Now open your phone's camera and have it face the QR code that is upon your computer
- Now using your computer's pad, type in the six-digit code into Zoom
- Now select SMS and input your Zoom password, and type in your phone number
- Lastly, type in the six-digit code sent by Zoom
With two-factor identification enabled, Zoom is safe for most applications.
Meeting New People On Zoom
As it turns out, Zoom has been a great way to meet new people during these times of relative isolation. For example, you may be on a big Zoom call for work or perhaps organized by a friend. Let's say someone catches your eye/attention that you have not met before. Want to find out more about him or her? It's easy with new, advanced people search technology.
A nice feature on Zoom is that the person's name appears right below their video link. Using new advanced people search technology, you can easily find out more about that person. Here's how to do it:
Input the person's name and location into the search bar of a people search platform. One of our favorites is Glad I Know | People Search and Background Screening Made Simple.
GladiKnow is an advanced people search technology that searches hundreds of millions of public records online and offline. This people search engine will instantly and CONFIDENTIALLY provide you with everything you want to know about that person, including contact information, where that person lives, social media accounts, phone numbers, as well as important background information including criminal and sex offender records, licenses and permits, emails, education, employment history, liens and judgments, bankruptcies.
Once you get this information confidentially, it is your choice to decide what you do with it. Perhaps reach out directly to say hello!
For more information on people search engines, here is a great video.
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