Do I have to make a
reservation?
No. You can start a conference on-demand at any time from the web
or from your telephone. From the web, you do this by selecting start a
conference call now on the home page. From the phone, you do this
by dialing the main system number just as you do to join a conference,
but instead of entering the standard conference code, you enter your
secret Account PIN (which you can find under view your
account). After asking you to confirm that you want to start a
new conference, the system will instantly set up a call that others
can now join using your regular conference code.
Note, however,
that at this time, special reservation options such as recording or
panel discussions with silent audience can only be selected when
reserving or starting your call from the web.
Is the voice part of my conference call secure?
Your voice does not travel on the Internet. Our bridges are
connected to the public switched telephone network through
high-density digital lines at a secure facility directly co-located
with a major telephone carrier switch. The facility is guarded, under
video surveillance, has card-key access only, and equipment is in a
locked cabinet. It is unlikely that anyone taps our telephone
equipment, but if a participant on your conference call has a tapped
line, or if a participant is using an analog cellular phone, then the
security of your call may be compromised.
Is it possible for an Internet hacker to spy on my conference and see who is participating?
No. All private information about your conference is transmitted
over an SSL encrypted connection. This is the same method of
encryption that financial institutions use to protect customer account
data, credit card numbers, and online stock trades. All your phone
numbers, names, credit card data, and conference access codes are
always encrypted before we transmit them over the Internet. The text
of instant chat messages is not encrypted, however. This makes the
instant messages sent during a conference slightly vulnerable to
sophisticated attack, but these messages are more secure than normal
email sent over the Internet.
How does my web page get control of my phone
line?
When you join on the web, you receive a unique, secure temporary
"star code" that you enter on your phone in addition to the normal
conference access code. As soon as you enter this star code on your
phone, your browser can use this code to control your phone line, and
if you have host access, it can also control the other phone lines in
the conference.
