5 ms·

And for people giving ways to prevent it, can you please provide some context for those of us who aren't OS experts?

by MattGaiser 5y ago

dsr_ 5y ago
If you must use zoom, use it in a browser; uninstall their app.
- elliekelly 5y ago
  I must have uninstalled their app on my Macbook ten times now but somehow it keeps coming back. I’ll click a link to join a meeting and the app launches.
  - agustif 5y ago
    > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28210076 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28210076 They recover the app from your backups if available when launching. Try appCleaner or something like that, and you might need to delete it from any TimeMachine backups too, lol
    - GekkePrutser 5y ago
      This is exactly the kind of dickery I hate zoom for. The same thing with installing a backdoor and then blatantly refusing to remove it when found out. Luckily Apple did the job for them :P Their attitude is so wrong. I don't understand how people still use it.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  I didn't know that Zoom allowed that. Thank you.
  - dheera 5y ago
    You have to pretend that Zoom doesn't work and then it eventually gives you the "join from browser" link. When you click on a Zoom meeting, it will prompt you to launch xdg-open -- cancel it. Then hit launch again -- cancel the xdg-open again -- and then the "Join from browser" link should pop up after a few times. Sometimes it tries to capture you, I had to click on trucks and trains for 15 minutes before it let me in, and then had to apologize for being 15 minutes late to the meeting.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  But it doesn't work particularly well that way! It's workable, but calls seem to have worse quality and more latency. By all means, use it if you feel it's necessary, but you're giving up a lot!
  - dsr_ 5y ago
    Yes! It's a literal tradeoff between security and functionality, the same tradeoff that people make every day. Figure out which one you want; Zoom is unwilling to give you both, even when you're paying them.
jraph 5y ago
"Zoom does not work on my computer*, can we try X instead?" With X = something the other end does not need to install, like Jitsi Meet for instance *no need to explain that's because you uninstalled it and blocked its domain on your computer.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  A bit difficult when your org has decided to use Zoom for large meetings. Although I nearly universally would be happy to skip those meetings, so…
  - jazzyjackson 5y ago
    You can call in by phone
    - MattGaiser 5y ago
      They are picky about making sure everyone uses a camera.
      - jraph 5y ago
        Then I guess your IT department or your management is happy to share your work computer's content with Zoom. I see three paths: - Resort to use Zoom in a browser, maybe from a separate profile - If this does not work for you, use Zoom from a virtual machine (it should be possible by exporting the camera likely connected by USB to the VM) - If you'd like to avoid a VM because it's heavy / annoying, I'm not sure there's an easy solution without learning how to use namespaces and unshare. Additionally, and optionally: - Gently campaign against Zoom or for a better solution internally.
  - pjc50 5y ago
    Use the work laptop. Its security is then their problem, not yours. Do I care if the Chinese government know that I've got Visual Studio open?
- 5y ago
908B64B197 5y ago
If you care about protecting your IP or your company from state sponsored actors it's better to avoid Zoom due to it's ties with the CCP [0] [0] https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/11/zoom-admits-to-shutting-down-activist-accounts-at-the-request-of-the-chinese-government/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/11/zoom-admits-to-shutting-do...

And for people giving ways to prevent it, can you please provide some context for those of us who aren't OS experts?

dsr_ 5y ago

If you must use zoom, use it in a browser; uninstall their app.

elliekelly 5y ago
I must have uninstalled their app on my Macbook ten times now but somehow it keeps coming back. I’ll click a link to join a meeting and the app launches.
- agustif 5y ago
  > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28210076 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28210076 They recover the app from your backups if available when launching. Try appCleaner or something like that, and you might need to delete it from any TimeMachine backups too, lol
  - GekkePrutser 5y ago
    This is exactly the kind of dickery I hate zoom for. The same thing with installing a backdoor and then blatantly refusing to remove it when found out. Luckily Apple did the job for them :P Their attitude is so wrong. I don't understand how people still use it.
MattGaiser 5y ago
I didn't know that Zoom allowed that. Thank you.
- dheera 5y ago
  You have to pretend that Zoom doesn't work and then it eventually gives you the "join from browser" link. When you click on a Zoom meeting, it will prompt you to launch xdg-open -- cancel it. Then hit launch again -- cancel the xdg-open again -- and then the "Join from browser" link should pop up after a few times. Sometimes it tries to capture you, I had to click on trucks and trains for 15 minutes before it let me in, and then had to apologize for being 15 minutes late to the meeting.
Wowfunhappy 5y ago
But it doesn't work particularly well that way! It's workable, but calls seem to have worse quality and more latency. By all means, use it if you feel it's necessary, but you're giving up a lot!
- dsr_ 5y ago
  Yes! It's a literal tradeoff between security and functionality, the same tradeoff that people make every day. Figure out which one you want; Zoom is unwilling to give you both, even when you're paying them.

jraph 5y ago

"Zoom does not work on my computer*, can we try X instead?" With X = something the other end does not need to install, like Jitsi Meet for instance *no need to explain that's because you uninstalled it and blocked its domain on your computer.

MattGaiser 5y ago
A bit difficult when your org has decided to use Zoom for large meetings. Although I nearly universally would be happy to skip those meetings, so…
- jazzyjackson 5y ago
  You can call in by phone
  - MattGaiser 5y ago
    They are picky about making sure everyone uses a camera.
    - jraph 5y ago
      Then I guess your IT department or your management is happy to share your work computer's content with Zoom. I see three paths: - Resort to use Zoom in a browser, maybe from a separate profile - If this does not work for you, use Zoom from a virtual machine (it should be possible by exporting the camera likely connected by USB to the VM) - If you'd like to avoid a VM because it's heavy / annoying, I'm not sure there's an easy solution without learning how to use namespaces and unshare. Additionally, and optionally: - Gently campaign against Zoom or for a better solution internally.
- pjc50 5y ago
  Use the work laptop. Its security is then their problem, not yours. Do I care if the Chinese government know that I've got Visual Studio open?
5y ago

908B64B197 5y ago

If you care about protecting your IP or your company from state sponsored actors it's better to avoid Zoom due to it's ties with the CCP [0] [0] https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/11/zoom-admits-to-shutting-down-activist-accounts-at-the-request-of-the-chinese-government/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/11/zoom-admits-to-shutting-do...