Blocking Guest Access to Meeting Rooms

Connect Pro 7 supports access from different categories of meeting users: registered users and guests.

While registered users have profile data managed in Connect Pro, guest users are external users who can request entry to a meeting just by opening the URL of the meeting room in a browser. Hosts can configure their meeting to automatically accept guest entries or to filter guest entries.

In certain cases, though, it is desirable to prevent guests from requesting entry. This holds true in meetings where company-confidential or sensitive information may be disclosed. Hosts and Administrators may want to restrict access to registered users only, since registered users are subject to authentication before being granted access. Authentication can be performed against the Connect Pro database (native authentication) or against a corporate directory (LDAP authentication).

This step-by-step tutorial explains how to block guest access within Connect Pro 7.

Step 1: Create a Meeting Room or Edit the Properties of an Existing Room
Who should do this? Connect Pro Hosts (or Administrators)

Open Connect Pro Central to manage your meeting room(s). Click on the Meetings tab in the top-level menu; click New Meeting to create a new meeting room or select an existing room in the list.

To edit existing room properties, click Edit Information. Under Meeting Information, select the radio button Only registered users may enter the room (guest access is blocked). Click Save to submit your new setting(s).

Step 2: Start a Meeting.
Who should this? Connect Pro Hosts

If you start a meeting session after blocking guest access for this particular room, guests can no longer be admitted nor request entry. Users opening the meeting room URL in a browser are only offered the option to authenticate in order to join the meeting.

Step 3: Change Guest Settings During a Meeting Session
Who should this? Connect Pro Hosts

During a meeting session, you can update the guest access policy on the fly. You can either go to Connect Pro Central and update the Meeting Information or, more conveniently, select the option Manage Access & Entry, then Block Guest Access in the Meeting menu of your Connect Pro room.

Your new setting will be persisted across future sessions in this room. You can reverse it at any time and, if you do so, the policy will be reset to Only registered users and accepted guests may enter the room.

FAQs

Q: If I update Block Guest Access during a meeting session, will this change apply immediately to this meeting session?
A: Yes. The change will apply to this meeting session in real-time.

Q: If I update Block Guest Access during a meeting session, will this change apply to future sessions in this room?
A: Yes. Your new setting will be persisted across future sessions in this room.

Q: Can the Block Guest Access setting be updated at any time?
A: Yes. You can enable, disable and reverse this setting at any time, with immediate effect.

Q: Can we block guest access for multiple rooms or all rooms on our Connect Pro server, all at once?
A: No. In the current version, this setting is configurable on a per-meeting basis to give maximum flexibility to each meeting host. There is no global setting to disable guest access across the entire system.