Online gaming is insanely popular in India, and for a good reason. Online gamers don’t need to buy any additional accessories to run them. By 2022, there will be over 510 million online gamers in India. In fact, India also showed the highest growth in mobile game downloads (165%) since 2016.
However, since so many people are invested in online games, gamers have also become a favorite cybercriminals target. If you’re an online gamer, here are five ways you can protect yourself.
Don’t play on public Wi-Fi
Any person can connect to public Wi-Fi, including hackers. There’s a massive flaw in the WPA2 encryption—which also happens to be the standard security protocol of most Wi-Fi networks. With the right keys, anyone connected to the network via Wi-Fi can see and access all the other devices connected to it. If you game out of the house often, invest in an unlimited data plan instead.
Make sure the website is legitimate
If you’re fond of playing browser games like Doom and Monopoly Bing, always check if the website the games are hosted on is safe. Gaming provider Foxy Games makes all the legal certifications visible near the bottom of their homepage, with users being able to quickly access their privacy policy, cookie policy, and terms and conditions. They also have the necessary company information in their footer. Other online gaming providers like Evolution and PragmaticPlay do the same. A reputable game site also won’t riddle its games with ads before you can play them. These ads often contain malware that automatically downloads itself into your computer upon clicking. Avoid these websites at all costs.
Only download games from official repositories
In line with the previous subheading, you should only download games from official websites, stores, and other legitimate repositories. Official repositories always check their software for malware. In fact, Google Play even has an “APP” feature that users can enroll in. It’ll scan your mobile device frequently for any stray malware. Therefore, stick to the app store available on your mobile device for downloads. For PC games like League of Legends and Fortnite, official publishers like Garena and Epic Games will have them available on their official website for download or purchase.
Log out of your accounts
Open network platforms like Steam and Origin require you to log into an account before playing their games. These accounts hold a lot of sensitive data like your name, address, and credit card information. As such, whenever you finish a session, don’t forget to log out. Breaches can come from anywhere, not just the gaming platforms that you access. On the off-chance that your device picks up spyware or a Trojan, you’re ensuring that they’re locked out of your private networks.
Keep your OS and software up to date
Cyber attacks get more sophisticated every day. Fortunately, so do our systems’ security defenses. If you read the updates’ patch notes, you’ll find that they often include security upgrades, firewall fixes, and more. As such, wherever you see an update available for your BIOS, drivers, OS, and other programs, make sure to run the update as soon as you can.
Hackers lurk in our networks as often as gamers play on them. Make sure that you’re not inviting them into your accounts and devices.
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