Video games are popular in every corner of the globe. And if that corner has a good Internet connection, there are probably plenty of gamers who regularly participate in multiplayer online sessions.

While this is a fun and joyous activity, it comes with certain security risks.

In this article, we’ll explain how to protect yourself in online gaming, all the way from North Carolina to Idaho and back.

Play through VPNs

A virtual private network (VPN) is a special data gateway that additionally encrypts the information you send from your computer to other computers on the Web.

In the gaming context, using a VPN improves your security because the traffic is hidden, as explained above. This means that your IP address is not visible to potential attackers, which is one of their main targets to conduct a hacker attack.

Gamers used to avoid VPNs because of their clunky, game-slowing performance. Those days are gone, and modern VPNs provide a smooth and safe gaming experience, whether you’re playing classic Steam-based games or visiting the newest available iGaming platforms. VPNs can also help you access iGaming platforms based elsewhere, and avoid other geo-restrictions you might encounter when gaming online.

Keep Your Personal Data to Yourself

Live chat is one of the accompanying benefits of online gaming. Instead of wasting time getting to your friend’s place, you can play together online.

This advantage becomes a potential hazard when you start communicating with people whom you don’t know. The pattern here is the same as the one in the offline reality: you meet someone who seems nice, start behaving more relaxed, and reveal too much information about yourself.

A priori, there’s nothing wrong with this open-minded approach. In real life, it can go wrong in many different ways. After all, the research conducted by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) showed that about 66% of online gamers have experienced some sort of bullying or harassment.

Therefore, never reveal your real name but go with the username when chatting during your plays, avoid talking about your home address, work, family, or any other sensitive, personal data.

Don’t Click on Shady Links

Fast track back to the previous section: online scammers frequently lure their gaming buddies into clicking on malevolent links.

Phishing is one of the most widespread data theft techniques. In this case, it would mean clicking on a link you got in chat and letting a virus into your system. Such harmful software bits aren’t here to damage your system. On the contrary, phishing and other malicious attacks serve to bring the perpetrator certain loot. Most commonly, it’s ransomware – the malicious software that blocks your access to valuable information on your computer or on various online accounts (banks included) until you pay a certain amount of money.

Avoid Downloading Suspicious Versions

As long as gaming exists, avid gamers have always been trying to figure out some workarounds. The most common incentive for dodging the rules is the monetary one: people don’t want to or can’t pay for the game and go with pirate versions instead. While most pirate versions won’t connect to the official game server – hence, no multiplayer mode – there are workarounds here, as well (third-party servers, special VPNs, etc.).

Another common security risk is downloading the apparently original game from a suspicious source. Again, the hook here is usually a discount or some other similar “benefits”. By downloading games from suspicious sources, you expose your computer and everything you keep on it to phishing and malware attacks. Hence, go only for original, trusted sources (if you want to stay secure).

Create Strong Passwords

This is probably the oldest cybersecurity tip in the world. And yet, Reader’s Digest has reported recently that “123456” is still the most common password, at least among their surveyed Internet users.

Therefore, we must reiterate the importance of creating secure passwords to access your online gaming accounts. If you can’t remember those complex passwords (capital and small letters, numbers, special characters), go for a passphrase – a unique yet memorable string of words, or even a sentence, you can easily remember.

Also, think about using password managers to store all your passphrases and passwords for various accounts if you can’t remember them all.

Mind the In-Game Purchases

From simple, tap-to-play apps to larger-than-life epic games, you’ll often come across in-game purchases. Whether you want to buy new tires for your racing car or boost your fantasy character, you must pay for such additions. And then there’s funding your account if you’re playing at an online casino.

As you’re entering the field of digital payments, you should know in advance there are security mines across this valley. While the game provider is liable for ensuring payment security, you should always count on potential data breach.

In that case, gamers who’ve paid with credit cards are a bit more secure than those who’ve used debit cards. The latter come with a higher integrated level of anti-fraud protection, meaning that they’re more prone to potential transaction leaks.

The Final Word

You can never be too secure on the Internet, and online gaming hides various risks, just like any other digital activity. What you can do to mitigate those risks is conceal your personal data, use a VPN, get your games from trusted sources, and apply all the other tips explained above. Such a proactive and responsible attitude toward playing video games online will keep you as safe and sound as possible.