Items tagged with video conferencing
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic exploded earlier this year, videoconferencing service Zoom has seen its popularity soar. During its ascent, Zoom has faced a number of challenges related to privacy and security, so on May 22, the company released the draft design of its end-to-end encryption (E2EE) implementation. Zoom says that since that date it has engaged with civil liberty organizations, its CISO council, child safety advocates, encryption experts, government representatives, its users, and others to get feedback on the feature. Ultimately, Zoom says that it explored new technologies that would enable it to offer E2EE for all tiers of users, even free users. This week, the video conferencing...
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If you are searching for a webcam upgrade to boost your Zoom or other video conferencing quality, you may already have it. Canon has released a free EOS Webcam Utility which allows many of its cameras to function as plug-and-play USB webcams on Windows computers. The idea of using a DSLR or mirrorless camera as a webcam is certainly nothing new. Many streamers already leverage these cameras using an HDMI capture card. These capture cards can be pricey – into the hundreds of dollars – and are currently in short supply. Still, they do provide the highest-quality option for cameras that can provide a “Clean HDMI-out” signal. Some cameras can provide HDMI out, but the signal...
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It seems as though everyone is into video conferencing these days, and understandably so—it's a critical service for remote work, and a way to keep yourself sane during this time of social distancing (having weekly meetups with friends and family members is great for staying in touch). With all that in mind, Google has decided to make its premium Meet video conferencing service free for all. Up until now, Google Meet has only been available through G Suite, making it exclusive to enterprise and education customers. Over the coming weeks, anyone with an email address will be able to sing up for Meet and access the same features as G Suite customers, such screen sharing, simple scheduling,...
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Users have been having a love-hate relationship with Zoom, the popular video conferencing application that has a seen a surge in activity since the COVID-19 outbreak. The startup was not quite prepared for the influx of mainstream users, and Zoom's CEO admitted to some security and privacy "missteps." Some of those have been addressed in a new Zoom 5.0 software update. The update is part of Zoom's previously announced 90-day plan to identify and address security and privacy issues. Part of that entails adding support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption. It's still end-to-end encryption, but should make Zoom meetings more secure. “I am proud to reach this step in our 90-day plan, but this is...
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There is some more bad news for Zoom and some of its users. Security researchers recently discovered that the dark web and hacker forums are host to over 500,000 compromised Zoom accounts being offered up for sale at dirt cheap prices. Some of them are being sold for a fraction of a penny, while others are being given away for free. It almost feels like we are picking on Zoom at this point with so many headlines highlighting the company's security and privacy lapses in recent weeks. However, that is not the case. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan recently admitted that his video conferencing startup "moved too fast" in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and "had some missteps" along the way. Part of the problem,...
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In some ways, these are unprecedented times, resulting in a dramatic rise in the use of video conferencing software. Many people working from (or stuck at) home have turned to Zoom, and the sudden influx exposed some security and privacy issues. In the wake of it all, Microsoft is reminding users of its Teams software, while emphasizing its "commitment to privacy and security." Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365, wrote a blog post on the subject, assuring users that "privacy and security are never an afterthought" at Microsoft. Some may view that as a subtle (or maybe not-so-subtle) dig at Zoom. I'm not entirely sure if that is how it was meant to come across, but it's...
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These are indeed strange times we live in. As the Coronavirus pandemic runs its course, more people are being sent home to work, and the sudden surge in telecommuting has resulted in a rise in the number of people turning to Zoom, a popular video conferencing application. It's not the only game in town, though, in case you want to use something different. That's not to say Zoom won't get the job done. It will, which is why it is so popular in the first place. However, there has also been some cause for concern in recent weeks. Zoom recently caught some heat over its data collection policies when it came to light that it was sharing private data with Facebook without permission. Zoom subsequently...
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Businesses and schools are turning to online meetings and classes during the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic as people stay home to help prevent spreading the virus due to human-to-human contact. One of the videoconferencing solutions that have seen a significant uptick in adoption in recent weeks is called Zoom. The company has now issued an apology after it was discovered that the company was sharing data with Facebook without first disclosing it to customers. Zoom recently issued a statement that says when it originally implemented the "Login with Facebook" feature using the Facebook SDK for iOS, it wanted to give users another convenient way to access its platform. Zoom says that it was made...
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It was not all that long ago when collaborating with co-workers meant sitting in a board room environment while someone scribbles on a dry erase board. Times have changed. Collaboration these days can mean working with people from all corners of the globe. To make things easier and ultimately more productive, Amazon today announced a new unified communications service called Amazon Chime. This isn't new territory by any means, though Amazon argues that "most meetings solutions are disappointing." Amazon threw shade on the competition by calling existing solutions "clunky and hard to use," oftentimes with grainy video, frequent disconnects, and poor audio with constant background noise. Many existing...
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