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Is anyone here boycotting use of Zoom? I have a few clients that ask me to use it and I'm trying to think up a good response as to why I don't have it installed

Is anyone here boycotting use of Zoom? I have a few clients that ask me to use it and I'm trying to think up a good response as to why I don't have it installed. For those of you that have rejected it on principle, what are you all saying?

miles 6y ago
I generally share a smattering of links like these: Zoom banned from New York City schools due to privacy and security flaws https://www.fastcompany.com/90486586/zoom-banned-from-new-york-city-schools-due-to-privacy-and-security-flaws https://www.fastcompany.com/90486586/zoom-banned-from-new-yo... Google Told Its Workers That They Can’t Use Zoom On Their Laptops Anymore https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/google-bans-zoom https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/google-bans... Elon Musk's SpaceX bans Zoom over privacy concerns https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spacex-zoom-video-commn/elon-musks-spacex-bans-zoom-over-privacy-concerns-memo-idUSKBN21J71H https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spacex-zoom-video-commn/e... Beware of ‘ZoomBombing:’ screensharing filth to video calls https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/17/zoombombing/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/17/zoombombing/ Zoom needs to clean up its privacy act https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2020/03/27/zoom/ https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2020/03/27/zoom/ Zoom security issues: Here's everything that's gone wrong (so far https://www.tomsguide.com/news/zoom-security-privacy-woes https://www.tomsguide.com/news/zoom-security-privacy-woes Mass move to work from home in coronavirus crisis creates opening for hackers: cyber experts https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cyber/mass-move-to-work-from-home-in-coronavirus-crisis-creates-opening-for-hackers-cyber-experts-idUSKBN2153YC https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cyber/... Security and Privacy Implications of Zoom https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/04/security_and_pr_1.html https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/04/security_and_... ‘Zoom is malware’: why experts worry about the video conferencing platform https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/02/zoom-technology-security-coronavirus-video-conferencing https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/02/zoom-tech... Ex-NSA hacker drops new zero-day doom for Zoom https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-nsa-hacker-drops-zero-140020837.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-nsa-hacker-drops-zero-1400... Maybe we shouldn’t use Zoom after all https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/zoom-at-your-own-risk/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/zoom-at-your-own-risk/ Attackers can use Zoom to steal users’ Windows credentials with no warning https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/04/unpatched-zoom-bug-lets-attackers-steal-windows-credentials-with-no-warning/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/04/unpat... The Zoom Privacy Backlash Is Only Getting Started https://www.wired.com/story/zoom-backlash-zero-days/ https://www.wired.com/story/zoom-backlash-zero-days/ Hackers Are Selling a Critical Zoom Zero-Day Exploit for $500,000 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdqgv/hackers-selling-critical-zoom-zero-day-exploit-for-500000 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdqgv/hackers-selling-cr... Researchers found and bought more than 500,000 Zoom passwords on the dark web for less than a cent each https://www.businessinsider.com/500000-zoom-accounts-sale-dark-web-2020-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/500000-zoom-accounts-sale-da...
- shacrw 6y ago
  The above China concern is legit but a lot of the issues in the above links have been fixed in the updates ~2 months back.
  - miles 6y ago
    Yes, it merely establishes their long-running problems and history of disregarding user privacy and security.
    - fsflover 6y ago
      Would be useful to collect the links solely about the Zoom's security politics, not about bugs which everyone has.
- orsenthil 6y ago
  I relied on Mozilla's guide and they seem to be perfectly OK with recommending Zoom as a video conferencing app https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/categories/video-call-apps/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/categor...
  - staycoolboy 6y ago
    This is very interesting. I do trust mozilla. However many of the security concerns stem from the dubious thing the Zoom installer does, which Mozilla's scorecard does not cover. I feel a little more at east with a Mozilla recommendation, however.
ciarannolan 6y ago
I refuse to use Zoom at all. If it's a client I have a comfortable relationship with, I'll tell them honestly why I won't use it. If not, I tell them "I can never get Zoom to work on my computer" or something similar, and provide an alternative.
frabbit 6y ago
I will not use it. Have used it once with some friends when it seemed churlish not to, but have refused to and suggested using Jitsi Meet since then with others including at work. Work insists on Microsoft Teams now. Oh well. At least I am only probably being spied on by the "good guys" now, right?
frequentnapper 6y ago
I don't use it because development team is based in China.
epanchin 6y ago
You don’t need to install it to join a zoom meeting, that’s one of the reasons it’s so popular.
- OJFord 6y ago
  Nor Jitsi, whether you self-host (which you can do) or use the first or a third party site.
mfkp 6y ago
Just say "our company policy does not allow using Zoom due to security concerns", then suggest an alternative that you prefer.

miles 6y ago

I generally share a smattering of links like these: Zoom banned from New York City schools due to privacy and security flaws https://www.fastcompany.com/90486586/zoom-banned-from-new-york-city-schools-due-to-privacy-and-security-flaws https://www.fastcompany.com/90486586/zoom-banned-from-new-yo... Google Told Its Workers That They Can’t Use Zoom On Their Laptops Anymore https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/google-bans-zoom https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/google-bans... Elon Musk's SpaceX bans Zoom over privacy concerns https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spacex-zoom-video-commn/elon-musks-spacex-bans-zoom-over-privacy-concerns-memo-idUSKBN21J71H https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spacex-zoom-video-commn/e... Beware of ‘ZoomBombing:’ screensharing filth to video calls https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/17/zoombombing/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/17/zoombombing/ Zoom needs to clean up its privacy act https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2020/03/27/zoom/ https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2020/03/27/zoom/ Zoom security issues: Here's everything that's gone wrong (so far https://www.tomsguide.com/news/zoom-security-privacy-woes https://www.tomsguide.com/news/zoom-security-privacy-woes Mass move to work from home in coronavirus crisis creates opening for hackers: cyber experts https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cyber/mass-move-to-work-from-home-in-coronavirus-crisis-creates-opening-for-hackers-cyber-experts-idUSKBN2153YC https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cyber/... Security and Privacy Implications of Zoom https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/04/security_and_pr_1.html https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/04/security_and_... ‘Zoom is malware’: why experts worry about the video conferencing platform https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/02/zoom-technology-security-coronavirus-video-conferencing https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/02/zoom-tech... Ex-NSA hacker drops new zero-day doom for Zoom https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-nsa-hacker-drops-zero-140020837.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-nsa-hacker-drops-zero-1400... Maybe we shouldn’t use Zoom after all https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/zoom-at-your-own-risk/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/zoom-at-your-own-risk/ Attackers can use Zoom to steal users’ Windows credentials with no warning https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/04/unpatched-zoom-bug-lets-attackers-steal-windows-credentials-with-no-warning/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/04/unpat... The Zoom Privacy Backlash Is Only Getting Started https://www.wired.com/story/zoom-backlash-zero-days/ https://www.wired.com/story/zoom-backlash-zero-days/ Hackers Are Selling a Critical Zoom Zero-Day Exploit for $500,000 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdqgv/hackers-selling-critical-zoom-zero-day-exploit-for-500000 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdqgv/hackers-selling-cr... Researchers found and bought more than 500,000 Zoom passwords on the dark web for less than a cent each https://www.businessinsider.com/500000-zoom-accounts-sale-dark-web-2020-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/500000-zoom-accounts-sale-da...

shacrw 6y ago
The above China concern is legit but a lot of the issues in the above links have been fixed in the updates ~2 months back.
- miles 6y ago
  Yes, it merely establishes their long-running problems and history of disregarding user privacy and security.
  - fsflover 6y ago
    Would be useful to collect the links solely about the Zoom's security politics, not about bugs which everyone has.
orsenthil 6y ago
I relied on Mozilla's guide and they seem to be perfectly OK with recommending Zoom as a video conferencing app https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/categories/video-call-apps/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/categor...
- staycoolboy 6y ago
  This is very interesting. I do trust mozilla. However many of the security concerns stem from the dubious thing the Zoom installer does, which Mozilla's scorecard does not cover. I feel a little more at east with a Mozilla recommendation, however.

ciarannolan 6y ago

I refuse to use Zoom at all. If it's a client I have a comfortable relationship with, I'll tell them honestly why I won't use it. If not, I tell them "I can never get Zoom to work on my computer" or something similar, and provide an alternative.

frabbit 6y ago

I will not use it. Have used it once with some friends when it seemed churlish not to, but have refused to and suggested using Jitsi Meet since then with others including at work. Work insists on Microsoft Teams now. Oh well. At least I am only probably being spied on by the "good guys" now, right?

frequentnapper 6y ago

I don't use it because development team is based in China.

epanchin 6y ago

You don’t need to install it to join a zoom meeting, that’s one of the reasons it’s so popular.

OJFord 6y ago
Nor Jitsi, whether you self-host (which you can do) or use the first or a third party site.

mfkp 6y ago

Just say "our company policy does not allow using Zoom due to security concerns", then suggest an alternative that you prefer.