Oh Snap!

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12

How to open Zoom meeting link in Firefox in Ubuntu 22.04?

rated 0 times [ 12] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 3145 / 2 Years ago, fri, august 12, 2022, 9:24:52

Zoom supposedly installed.

I click on the meeting link in an e-mail, Firefox opens and asks for an application to open the link.

Now, what?

It's odd that no file/link association exists, having just installed Zoom, but whatevs.

I navigate to /opt/zoom and double-click on the zoom application file to select the application to open the link, and nothing happens.

How does one open a Zoom meeting link in Linux?

NOTE: The solution here fails on Ubuntu Desktop 22.04.

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answered 2 Years ago splenueak · Accepted Answer

Oh Snap!

Firefox is a snap app by default in Ubuntu 22.04. This means it is sandboxed and cannot interact with other apps. This is a security feature, not a bug!

Alternately: Zoom in Browser

According to this article Tom's Guide published March 18, 2022, it is safer to "join Zoom meetings through your web browser instead of via the Zoom desktop software. The web browser version gets security enhancements faster and "sits in a sandbox" to limit security problems, notes antivirus company Kaspersky."

Caution: Danger Ahead

Before we get to the workaround, let me be clear that the sandboxing of Firefox in a snap closes a security risk. In particular, opening links from a browser that opens a third party app like Zoom is a point of entry for malwares.

For example, clicking on a link inside an email that looks like an invite to a Zoom meeting from a colleague may be a malicious phishing attempt. Instead of opening Zoom, it may do something bad to your computer. It may be a bit of extra work, but it is best to copy and paste the meeting number and password directly in Zoom rather than clicking on a link that is supposed to open Zoom.

In today's news: Linux malware is booming, so stay secure, Microsoft warns

Workaround

One workaround is to uninstall the snap version of Firefox and install the deb version. This approach is complicated by the fact that deb version of Firefox in the default repository now points to the snap app.

How to install Firefox as a traditional deb package (without snap) in Ubuntu 22.04 (jammy)

The above link goes into the details.

Hope this helps