Zoom 5.0, security update mandatory from May 30

Zoom is updating to version 5.0 which brings with it many security-related changes. Here's how to download the latest version and install it on your PC

From May 30, 2020, anyone who wants to continue using the video calling and video conferencing app Zoom will have to update to version 5.0. Zoom Video Communications, the company that develops the app, is responding to the many criticisms it has received in recent weeks due to major security flaws encountered by users.

The update to version 5.0, in fact, is mandatory to implement 256-bit AES encryption on all meetings. Encryption is just one of the security-focused innovations Zoom has introduced lately, but the mandatory upgrade is additional news that had not previously been clearly and explicitly communicated. All the others, however, have been known since April and have been implemented gradually in the app, server-side. Encryption, on the other hand, requires a new app, hence the need to upgrade to version 5.0.

Zoom 5.0: the new security features

In addition to encryption, Control Data Routing also arrives in Zoom 5.0: the meeting administrator can decide which servers to pass communication data through. All security-related settings are now contained in a single screen, which can be accessed from a prominent icon. Also introduced is the requirement of a strong password to access almost all types of meetings (for example, those recorded in the cloud).

To counter the phenomenon of zoombombing, that is, the bombardment from users who sneak into meetings and start shouting swear words, profanity or show illegal or pornographic content, Zoom 5.0 introduces the Waiting Room: meeting administrators receive an audio notification when a user is waiting to enter and can decide whether to allow it or not. Finally, admins now have the ability to report a harassing user: the report is then checked by an internal Zoom team, which may also ban the harasser's account.

Zoom 5.0: how to download it

To download and install the latest version of Zoom usually just open the app, which will then ask us to install the update. If this doesn't happen you can go to https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/zoom-v5-0.html? and download, after logging in with your Zoom account, version 5.0. Only after successfully completing the update will we be able to return to using Zoom normally.