Ways to keep your information safe when gaming online

Keeping your information safe when gaming online reduces the risks of cyberbullying, privacy invasion, and identity theft. The online gaming world is rife with cases of data and information loss due to reasons like shady downloads and virus attacks. However, by implementing some online gaming best practices, avid online gamers can avoid being victims of these situations.

Here are some tested and proven ways to keep your information safe when gaming online.

Register With Only Reputable Gaming Platforms

Safeguarding your information when gaming online is a collaborative task. You and the gaming platform play your parts. So, you must verify that your chosen platform has strong security protocols that guarantee safety.

Reputable gaming platforms use cutting-edge encryption technology and secure payment gateways to protect gamers' personal and financial information.

Forums and reviews are your best verification sources. There, you’ll find unbiased opinions of past and current gamers about the platform’s reputation for security.

Trade and Make Payments With Crypto

Credit card information is arguably the most targeted information by cybercriminals in online gaming. The rise of in-game purchases has made it very rampant for gamers to share this information online. As such, the possibility of a slip-up is high.

However, cryptocurrencies like tether present an alternative means for making these purchases withdrawing, and depositing funds. Consequently, an online casino player can game at a tether casino without worrying about credit card information. The nature of the blockchain on which these cryptocurrencies are built helps them maintain a higher level of privacy compared to traditional banking methods.

Understand Privacy Policies

Privacy policies are legal statements detailing how an online gaming platform collects, uses, manages, and discloses your information. To be fair, they are usually boring, long blocks of legal jargon sometimes. We’re all guilty of clicking on “I agree” just to get to the gaming. However, if you’re serious about keeping your information safe when gaming online, you should start paying more attention to it.

It is an important aspect of choosing a reputable gaming platform because that’s how you know what happens to any data you share with this platform. Reading and understanding privacy policies helps you spot suspicious activities.

Secure Your Gaming Accounts With Strong Unique Passwords

If your online gaming platform is playing its part, then you need to do yours by locking your gaming accounts with strong, unique passwords. And, no, a combination of your name and date of birth isn’t a strong password.

A strong password shouldn’t be guessable. It should combine upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. You could also take things up a notch by making them longer. Statistics show that passwords that are at least 12 characters long are a lot harder to guess.

Furthermore, It is advisable to exclude personal information from your passwords. Finally, avoid using the same passwords across multiple accounts. If you’re finding it difficult to remember, write the passwords in a book that can be stored in a safe. Better yet, use a password manager to organize multiple passwords.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Regardless of your password strength, hackers crack passwords using sophisticated techniques like brute force attacks, dictionary attacks, and mask attacks. For example, despite the Microsoft Bitlocker’s full-disk encryption features, it was bypassed in just 43 seconds.  In preparation for such rare situations, 2FA gives you an extra layer of security.

2FA technology requires extra credentials to authorize login attempts into your online gaming account. These credentials could be access codes you’ll get from authentication apps and security keys or fingerprint and face IDs. By requesting any of these things, even after inputting the correct password, 2FA ensures that you’re fully aware of all actions carried out on your account.

Use Updated Anti-malware Programs

Viruses and malware can steal personal information like usernames and passwords when they creep into your system.

Although your computer has built-in antivirus protection systems, more is needed to fight against possible viruses online. These include worms, Trojans, spyware, ransomware, phishing scams, and adware. Each of these possible dangers has varying strengths, and so do different anti-malware programs.

Your role here is to evaluate what you may be up against and research the market for the appropriate anti-malware program. However, it is wise to choose an anti-malware program capable of handling all possible online gaming threats.

The earlier you deal with these threats, the better your chances of keeping your information safe when gaming online.

Clear all Data Saved on Your Browsers

Browsers offer to make browsing easier by saving usernames and passwords to multiple online gaming accounts. While this may be convenient, it poses strong security threats.

If your Google or Apple account details get into the wrong hands, they could get easy access to your confidential browsing data, credit card information, usernames, and passwords. The risks of leaking this information to websites are even significantly higher when gaming on websites with plenty of ads.

So, clear all data saved on your browser regularly. You can do this by clearing your cache, browsing history, and cookies. In addition, minimize the number of cookies you accept from sketchy websites in the first place. Using anti-tracking software that blocks off unwanted cookies and extensions can help with this.

Lastly, it is better to opt out of the save password option. It’s just like leaving your information out there for the taking.

Regulate Social Media Usage

In this day and age of heightened cybercrime, this should be a mantra all online gamers live by. Many online gamers stream their gaming sessions on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. While this helps them gain massive followers, it is important to regulate these activities to protect your personal information.

Incessant social media usage increases your chances of spilling sensitive data online. You never know who’s observing. Details like your home address and personal contact information should not be privy to the public. They can be used maliciously against you.