Gaming can be a great way to meet like-minded people, especially when you play multiplayer games online and join chat rooms. However, sharing information about yourself online can be incredibly risky. `
But while you might want to share your gameplay and join in the fun, it is important to understand the risks you can face and the security measures you can enforce to ensure you’re safe, and protected at all times. Whether you’re doing this for your own online safety or that of children who want to play online or multiplayer games, these are safety tips designed to help you stay safe.`
Strong Unique Passwords
Empower yourself with the basics of online security passwords. Strong passwords stop unauthorized access to your gaming accounts and protect any financial and personal details stored, such as names, addresses, and banking information. By using strong passwords of at least 12 characters, preferably longer, and avoiding identifiable information, you take control of your online safety.
You want to make it as hard as possible for people to break into your accounts, and random passwords can do that. Use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. You can create your own or use a password generator to create a unique password for all your accounts.
MFA
Multi-factor authentication is when you have more than one way of verifying you’re the right person logging into an account. It might include extra steps to log in and be a bit annoying at times, but in the event that someone does have your login credentials, if you have MFA activated, this triggers the additional step and requires actions to be completed. And the beauty is the other person trying to access your account won’t have the ability to log in once triggered. You might want to use an authenticator app as your MFA, or you have an email sent or text message, for example, but if the option is available, use it.
VPN
VPN’s (Virtual Private Networks) are excellent tools for protecting your identity. They encrypt all your internet traffic, ensuring no one can find your identity or location and adding an additional layer of privacy to your gameplay.
These days, modern VPNs don’t impact gameplay or internet speed, meaning you won’t suffer to keep your information hidden. Providers such as VPN Pro are perfect for gamers as they offer a fast, reliable proxy to hide your IP address and more.
Anonymous is Key
All of your usernames need to be anonymous and not include personally identifiable information or PII. Threat actors who are present in all areas of the internet, but especially gaming, are always there, ready and willing for people to share snippets they can use to their advantage. It might be you haven’t used a VPN, and they can see your IP address, which alerts them to your location, or that you used your surname as your username, meaning they have one more detail than they should have to identify you, etc. Information such as your phone number, address, age, date of birth, gender, and email address should not be used at all, especially in usernames, so you can remain anonymous at all times.
Update Software
Software updates are vital for all gamers. You need to avoid prolonging updates as they could leave you at risk of security threats or vulnerabilities that threat actors will take advantage of. And you best believe they will know when these will occur or have deployed, so they can wait to take advantage of those not on top of their updates. The most prevalent time for this to occur is right after an update has been released, so swoop before people have had a chance to update or are taking their time.
Know Common Scams
Being aware of the more common and even complex scams that occur in life and in the gaming communities can enable you to be aware if they happen to you. A great way to stay up to date on these is to join communities and read websites, blogs, and gaming news to see how people are experiencing it and how to avoid it. Knowledge is key when it comes to staying safe from scammers and hackers, and the more you know, the easier it will be to prevent them.
Avoid Unsecured Downloads
While those downloads might seem great and cheaper than trusted sources or official avenues, are they safe, and can you trust them? The threat is acute and will entice people to download games for free or at discounted prices. But these are usually pirated or illegitimate sources and will result in massive issues for you. As enticing as it can be, avoid anything that seems too good to be true, because it usually it is. Only download any games or add-on packs, etc, from trusted sources and assess their legitimacy before purchasing so you don’t end up being scammed or infected with malware, for example.
Block Anything Suspicious
If anyone or anything doesn’t feel right or you have a weird feeling about it, block them or remove yourself and perform security checks. It might be an unsolicited message with links someone wants you to click, or someone might be harassing you. Whatever it is, if it doesn’t quite sit right with you, block them and move on, as this could be the beginning of a threat or scam seeking to exploit you and your account. Blocking the user or users can result in them not being able to contact you, ensuring complete safety and reduced risk from whatever they wanted from you.
Adjust Default Privacy Settings
Typically, you can expect that your default privacy settings will be the least secure setting allowed. Changing this before you play or do anything else can allow you to add additional protections to your account to keep your information safe. You can choose the level of protection you want, but opting for the most stringent can help reinforce your defenses. If required, and this is recommended for children, you can make your account private, thus blocking strangers from contacting you or the account randomly to give you extra protection. Or you can allow messages for certain accounts or players but definitely change from the default for security purposes.
