Zoom

Zoom is a video communication service that allows all University staff and students to create meeting rooms and participate in meetings, seminars and conferences in real time through video and sound. Zoom is also suitable for remote teaching. The Zoom rooms created by University staff and students support a maximum of 500 simultaneous participants.

You can participate in Zoom meetings through a separate application installed on your computer or mobile device, or through a browser. Zoom has been installed on the computers managed by the University of Helsinki. The browser version of Zoom is available at helsinki.zoom.us

Attention

We recommend using the browser version when preparing a meeting and making changes to the default settings of the software. The best browser for using Zoom is Chrome.

When attending meetings, we recommend using the client software. By default, meetings are always opened in the client software if it has been installed on your computer.

In addition to the following instructions


Attention

Log in to the University Zoom – access all the functions of the service and get extra security for your meetings

Did you know that by logging in to the University Zoom with your University username, you can access all the functions of the University Zoom? Logging in to the University Zoom is also worthwhile due to the security features for larger meetings.

The University’s Zoom service functions:

  • The duration of a meeting is up to 30 hours.
  • Cloud storage developed by the service provider.
  • Zoom’s traffic on the service provider's servers in the Nordic countries.
  • You can be added to the meeting as an Alternative host

Extra security for your meetings 

To help keep your meetings secure, Zoom has three different security features, at least one of which must be selected when creating a meeting. By default, the Passcode is enabled, but you can also choose between Waiting Room or Authentication, i.e. mandatory login to Zoom. You can also choose all the security features.

Especially in larger team or workgroup meetings, it is a good idea to choose mandatory login in addition to the passcode, so that the participants of the meetings can be identified.

Pay attention to information security!
The same information security rules and guidelines apply to Zoom as to other tools, such as your email.

AttentionWe are investigating secure ways to use Zoom apps, but at the moment we do not accept the addition of apps to Zoom.

    Zoom version used at the University

    The University of Helsinki uses the On-Premise (On-Prem) Zoom provided by NORDUnet. The service has been implemented securely, with all video and audio traffic in the Nordic countries running on NORDUnet’s own servers. Only the validation of the Zoom licence takes place through Zoom’s own cloud service in the EU.

    You use the University of Helsinki’s On-Prem Zoom when you are logged in to Zoom with your University credentials via SSO (Single Sign On).

    In NORDUnet’s On-Prem Zoom, some functions, such as cloud recording, differ from those in standard Zoom.

    Servers

    University of Helsinki’s On-Prem Zoom

    • Servers in the EU, meaning that
      • The data remain in the EU
      • The GDPR is taken into account

    Zoom

    • Servers in the USA
      • beyond the scope of EU legislation

    Cloud storage

    University of Helsinki’s On-Prem Zoom

    Zoom

    • Recordings stored outside the EU
    • Can be viewed in the cloud service
    • Can be shared in the cloud

    Subtitles and captions

    University of Helsinki’s On-Prem Zoom

    • Subtitling and captioning can only be done manually – in practice, by having a stenographer write the text
    • No automated captioning

    Zoom

    • Subtitles and captions possible with shorthand writer
    • Automated captioning in English

    Streaming

    University of Helsinki’s On-Prem Zoom

    • Not available in On-Prem Zoom

    Apps

    University of Helsinki’s On-Prem Zoom

    • Not available in On-Prem Zoom
      • By default, the data will not remain in the EU
    • Secure apps, like Moodle, are available

    Client program

    Zoom is installed on all Windows and Cubbli computers centrally managed by the University. It can be installed on Mac computers from the Managed Software Center (separate instructions for installing Mac programs). 

    To start Zoom, type Zoom in the search box on your computer. Click on  the program icon to open the program.

    AttentionLogging in to the client program: Select Sign in with SSO. The address in the window that opens must be helsinki.zoom.us. Select Continue.

    See the Detailed help tab for more information.

    Using Zoom with a browser

    When using Chrome, Zoom can be accessed at https://helsinki.zoom.us. From the login page, you can join meetings, start a meeting, edit the settings of your account and visit Zoom’s own instruction pages.

    Setting up a meeting and sending invitations

    We recommend creating the meeting through your browser as it offers more settings than the application. The browser makes it easier to

    Joining a meeting

    Starting a meeting (as a host)

    • Access Zoom on Chrome at https://helsinki.zoom.us.
    • Select Host.
    • Zoom will ask you whether you want to host a meeting in the application or in the browser. Select start from your browser.
    • A meeting room will be opened.
    • The page that opens shows the Conference ID, and by selecting Invite at the bottom of the screen, you can see the meeting’s web address. You can use either of the two to invite participants.

    Editing account settings

    Instructions

    Give feedback

    The instructions site of the University of Helsinki's IT Helpdesk helps you with IT-related issues related to your work. Let us know how we can improve our instructions. We greatly appreciate your feedback!

    How would you improve these instructions?
    Back to top