In the past few years, online gaming has increased a lot – more & better online games are coming to the market, more and more players are moving towards online games, new technologies, gadgets & concepts are being introduced to make online gaming better than ever. The popularity and growth rate of online gaming is faster than ever. But, with more activities here, not only positive but negative things are also being introduced. So, the risk in playing online games is also higher than ever.
If you, your kid, your friend or someone you care about plays online games then you should know what risk online gaming can put to someone’s life. Through this article, I am going to tell you major risks regarding online gaming and protective measures to eliminate them.
Take any online game, there might be thousands of people playing the game from their smartphone, console, PC and social networking websites and you think you might (or you can) know them through their user profile but actually, all of them are strangers. You play with an assumed identity and it’s the same for them too. So, while playing with these strangers or interacting with them can expose you to some serious risks:
- Recklessly giving out personal details such as password, email, address, etc.
- Exposing personal details by putting them in user profiles
- Downloading game “cheats” which are infected with virus/malware
- Downloading pirated games or purchasing it for cheap from unauthorized sellers which led to account suspension
- Buying/selling in-game property, for example, premium weapons, expensive characters etc. using real money
- Disposing game console without deleting personal information or account details
- Using insecure network, public hotspots, proxies, etc.
Online gaming has come far from staying just a game. It has become a battlefield where lots of scammers are trying to scam gamers by attracting them using lucrative offers. Attackers try to steal personal information by guessing, researching & using social engineering skills. However, most of these risks can be protected if you are aware of them and take every step carefully.
- Play online games with effective antivirus & firewall running
- Keep your game, antivirus, operating system & other security software updated.
- Downloading games & their related software from trusted sources
- Use a username which doesn’t reveal any personal information and of course, avoid putting any personal detail in your user profile.
- Use strong passwords
- Avoid sharing any sensitive detail with other players
- Watch out for scams and stay updated with latest scam/security news regarding your online gaming site.
- Before disposing your mobile, pc, gaming console, remove any personal information & log out from your gaming accounts from the device.
Be very cautious while purchasing games or game-regarding stuff. You must buy only from official sources and by official methods. So, for example, if you are into an online slots game site then let me ask you:
What makes the most secure live casino? Well, the URL and https code with SSL encryption is one thing, but then you need to take a look at how secure the payments, deposits and withdrawals are. Pay attention to what authorities are tied to the security of that site. They are usually shown at the bottom of the page. These institutions guarantee that the site is verified, secured and uses a code that doesn’t work in their favor.
Follow tips & advice from gaming communities, read terms & conditions and abide them. Read privacy policy to know what personal information a gaming site is collecting from you and how it is being used. Be smart and careful, keep gamers away from your personal life and you’ll be safe.
