Everyone loves to play video games. Even if you don’t consider yourself a gamer, we bet you enjoy a round of Candy Crush or solitaire on your phone. That’s great. We’re in a golden age of gaming, where immersive experiences are getting more and more advanced, but there is the trouble of cyber security. If you are a Mac or PC gamer especially, there is a bigger chance that you could be hacked or otherwise be taken advantage of through a gap in your cyber security. How do you protect yourself while playing online? Take a look at our suggestions to close those gaps in your cyber security.
Virtual valuables
The online world is a good place to get scammed, and no one knows that better than a gamer. And no, we’re not talking about the disappointing result of No Man’s Sky when it was released. We’re talking about exchanging that sword you won in a boss battle for some real cash. Rare items that were initially designed to incentivize players have evolved into a full economic system, often involving digital assets. When transactions like selling a weapon are done in the crypto space, already a way of losing your money quickly, these transactions are final and anonymous. So, a good way to stop someone from taking your gun and running without paying the full amount is with a smart contract, which will only put the transaction through if both parties agree to the terms of the swap.
Data theft
No matter what kind of gamer you are. All console, mobile, Mac, online platforms, or Windows games are collecting data on you. If you’re playing mobile or social network-based games like Farmville, the data collected on you can get pretty extensive. It can include your current location, your phone calls, and your transactional information. Data thieves mostly operate on public Wi-Fi so use it to a minimum.
Weak authentication
Sometimes, you have only yourself to blame. Too many of us are logging into everything with the same password, which is your own name no doubt. That’s like leaving the keys in the lock on the outside of your door. We get it, a gamer has too many things to log into and so you want to make things easier by accessing everything from one account? That’s like having one door to all of your home. If you have to, keep a log of all your passwords – offline! Keeping a log online is like handing the key over.
Malware
Malware is good at causing havoc no matter who you are, but where it gets gamers is with the enticing promise of “cheats” or “hacks” to get past that boss you simply cannot beat. The next time you’re scrolling through Reddit for a walkthrough, be wary of that link that says it has the answer. It can go into your gaming accounts or even your PC and set a malware program loose on your computer, wrecking everything and stealing data as it goes.
