Gaming in the modern age has become a rage that has not only encompassed kids but adults too. People of different age groups are passionate about video games. While individuals spend a large amount of their time in playing games over the internet, they are not aware and prepared for fighting out malware risks they are susceptible to.
In recent years, people are getting more inclined towards the industry for passing their leisure time. Interestingly more number of females spend money on games. The average age of gamers has dropped down to 31 with the net worth of the gaming industry expected to hit $174 billion by 2021.
With given numbers game hacking incidences do not come as a surprise. Cybercriminals are more than keen to exploit such opportunities for financial abuse. What steps gamers in the house have taken to keep their cybersecurity intact? Being doubtful of what you have done is enough, we bring the best tricks that you can bookmark and refer to next time you start or resume the game.
Top 11 Common Cyber-Threats & Measures To Shield You Against Them
It goes without saying that there is immense pleasure and joy in playing online games. But in the sphere of video games, there is always a risk of getting exploited by hackers.
Without wasting any time further let us take you through the possible threats followed by the solutions to them:
1. Credentials hacking through a connected account
When one of your gaming accounts gets hacked, the risk is not limited to that particular account but cybercriminals can make use of your leaked credentials to get access to other accounts too. This does not need any technical sophistication and hackers steal money or data with credential stuffing. They work on the fundamentals that gamers use the identical password for multiple accounts and they keep on trying until they break-in the account. Isn’t it scary?
2. Getting enticed in the trap of power-ups
Gamers’ general tendency to get lured by short cuts proves costly. Every gamer who has played complex games knows that there are separate services that provide power-ups. Leaving the question that whether it is right or wrong to use third-party services to buy bounce ups, the bigger concern is that it is an unseen compromise with security. While gamers buy the boosts and power-ups that make their credentials vulnerable for frauds.
3. Malware in games
Games containing malware are advanced persistent threats. It is possible that the game has been developed with the intent to distribute the malicious code or hackers injected their script in an otherwise legitimate game. Oftentimes pirated games are infected copies and one should stick to healthy gaming habits which comprise of buying and using only legitimate copies of games.
4. Ransomware in-built for achievements
Some games like World of Warcraft comes with an in-game boost from 3rd parties. Gamers who go long way in the game doing some serious hard work like character development, are asked for a ransom in lieu of letting go of the stolen content.
5. Mobile gaming 3rd party apps and games
Mobile gaming apps are on boon due to easier development than their desktop counterparts. But at the same time, these are harder to be scrutinized on the grounds of security. Even if you find a game on Facebook or Google App Store it can be definitely unsafe.
6. Password stealing
Also known as keylogging, malware has infected popular games for making it easier to steal gamer accounts and information. This malware after making its way to your system is capable of stealing much more than you imagined.
Mostly, people use the same device for gaming and accessing internet banking, shopping accounts, etc. It can cause a real damage to you.
7. Pirated versions from torrents
Many gamers who are crazy for playing these games do not have sufficient money and they are drawn easily towards pirated versions via torrents. Hackers are widely known to disperse the malicious codes through torrents and hence, making you easily exposed to malware. Neither cheat codes nor pirated game versions can earn you more money but yes they qualify for pushing you towards a malware risk.
Measures That Can Keep You Safe
Malware risk is turning out to be a huge industry. But there are actions you can certainly swear by to keep your identity safe as you play.
1. Avoid the use of weak and repetitive passwords
Setting strong passwords has nothing to do with using funny words or doing the much obvious thing like keeping your name or date of birth or phone number as your password.
It is easy and simple to have the same passwords for multiple gaming accounts. Most of the gamers have at least 2 to 3 accounts and by re-using the same password you are doing nothing but making the job of hackers even easier.
2. Have extra authenticators
You cannot overlook the importance of using extra authenticators when popular games like Fortnite and EmuParadise Beach have found with security flaws in their authentication process. It is possible to avoid data loss with the use of additional authenticators or 2FA. Don’t ever skip the steps of the authentication process. Similarly, it is important to not opt for remembering passwords by default. Enable two-factor authentication and join token or extra authenticator app as that makes you safer.
3. Guard gaming accounts with comprehensive cybersecurity
Some people might not know that antivirus does not suffice for protecting them from sophisticated viruses. What you need is an additional layer of security that stops malicious domains usually based on AI behavior.
2. Don’t open attachments and links that are suspicious
You are not bound to open each and every thing that you receive. Make sure you stay away from the attachments and links that you don’t know about. If they are coming from known contacts you should ask them first what they are about. Just in case you don’t know the sender there is no point in even thinking about it.
3. Keep your system updated
It is so obvious for the gamers too to ensure that their software, antivirus and more are on auto-update mode. If it is not, make sure you keep them all upgraded so that they perform in their full capacity to detect and remove the virus.
If assumptions that you are not doing all of these then you are praiseworthy for sure. We want you to continue the good job for keeping yourself at a safe distance from cyber threats of any kind.
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