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Although gaming online can put you into a fantastical world in which you are fighting imaginary beasts and saving maidens, there are still threats. In the real world, malicious hackers want to gain access to your system.

Protecting your gaming laptop is relatively simple. You just need to have the correct protocols in place and be aware of your online activity. Don’t trust just anyone online. Make an active effort to get ahead of these threats before the hackers can get to you by trying these methods.

Don’t Plug and Play

A hacker’s main objective is to steal your information and identity, but the real value comes from the games. Many games operate on the real-world currency. For example, a character’s weapons from the ever-popular Fortnite hold a real value that hackers take advantage of. The easiest way for anyone to gain access to your gaming laptop is through direct contact. All the hacker needs is to wait for a person to get a virus on their PC. Once this happens, the system is compromised, making it easier for the hacker to get in.

To avoid being hacked in the first place, only insert USBs and other external devices that you have personally checked. If it’s not your device, be very reluctant to plug it in at all, unless you have a firewall and antivirus in place. Let’s look at these more closely.

Firewall Protection

Firewalls are the first line of protection that every device should have if it connects to the internet. Most operating systems like Windows 10 have embedded this feature into the software because it is so important for security when playing doing anything online. Firewalls directly block any unnecessary network traffic that your computer doesn’t recognise. It’s incredibly important when you are playing games like online casinos. Online casinos work with your real money as well, and if you don’t have the right protection, someone can use your credit card details for other purchases.

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Lessen Risk of Credential Stuffing

Credential stuffing attacks happen to gamers who use the same passwords for multiple gaming accounts. If hackers know one password, they will continue to try it on all of your accounts. You are extremely vulnerable in this situation because the hackers can also change your verification information. This means that you will be locked out of your system and won’t be able to reset passwords or reload the system.

The instant a hacker gains the necessary access to your account, your risks increase substantially. The best way to protect yourself against this is to only use your gaming laptop for very specific things. Don’t log into your email or bank account, and make every single password vastly different from the last. Your passwords need to be complicated enough for them to be difficult for someone to guess. At the same time, they cannot be so difficult that you need to write them down to remember. Use a formula of sequenced numbers and characters, and vary capital letters throughout the password.

Keep Your System Updated

Not only do you need a firewall, but you need an antivirus if a computer bug does make its way into your gaming laptop. A good antivirus will remove the bug, but sometimes you will need to reload the whole computer. One way that viruses get through the firewall is through phishing. The hacker will disguise themselves as an entity you trust. They will send an email or attachment and, once you open it, your computer is infected. Learn to identify phishing emails. The general features of a phishing email are bad spelling mistakes and grammar and inconsistencies in the email addresses.

Keeping your system updated at all times is not just something that your antivirus and firewall providers are trying to get you to do. It protects your gaming laptop because the system updates to correct any bug or error in the software that may put your computer under threat. Change the settings on your gaming laptop to always install the update as soon as it is released online.

Protecting your gaming laptop from hackers is a necessity nowadays. When most of your life is online, you must take proper care to actively keep malicious hackers at bay. By following just a few simple steps, you can protect your online habits and keep your gaming information safe from those that want to steal your valuables.

Author: Jodie James

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