It doesn’t matter whether you enjoy an occasional game here and there or if you dedicate hours of your day to gaming – it’s very important to learn how to stay safe in a world that is filled with potential threats. These threats range from online harassment to phishing, which certainly isn’t something you’ll want to take lightly. The good news is that a lot of work is being done on improving the cybersecurity for gamers, as well as all those people who enjoy surfing the web on their electronic devices. As it turns out, one of the most important tools that will help you keep your online security intact is a VPN. The truth is that there are so many facts to learn about Virtual Private Network, but what you’ll learn here pertains to the connection between a VPN and gaming security.
Cybersecurity for Gamers 101 – Know Where the Threats are Coming From
Unfortunately, it does seem like the Internet has become such an unsafe place that staying fully protected is next to impossible. That’s why an extra layer of privacy or anonymity that a VPN provides will certainly come in handy when trying to slay the monster lurking from behind the computer screen. It’s truly amazing to think about how many threats can be annihilated by using a VPN. Just to give you an idea of everything that can happen, as well as how a VPN will help you battle your online enemies, here’s a short list of the ways that a VPN can help you stay protected while busy with your favorite pastime.
1. VPN will help you stay protected from swatting
When playing multiplayer games, you often engage in conversation with other players. In fact, that’s something gamers love the most about their hobby. But in some cases, one of your teammates could become so angry that they take their frustrations in real life. They might try to find your IP address, hack your social media accounts, or even find your location and stalk you in real-life. Since a VPN will hide your online location, it’s easy to see how you would be dodging a bullet.
Even though swatting is very rare, the dangers of it are extreme and can even result in a deadly situation. If you have never heard about the term before, swatting is a form of harassment when someone makes a call and sends emergency services to a person’s home. If you have ever seen how emergency services react when faced with a hostage situation or a bomb threat, you’ll realize why you can’t let that happen. Once again, by protecting your address, a VPN will help you stay protected against all the dangers of swatting.
2. VPN will help you avoid DDoS attacks
If you aren’t familiar with the term, you should know that a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack is the type of attack where someone sends a lot of requests from a computer to a single system. The bad news is that today, almost anyone can get their hands on DDoS software. And if anyone has the ability to perform a DDoS attack, then the chances of being attacked by someone you are playing with aren’t negligible.
So if you have a VPN that’s masking your address, a DDoS attacker won’t be able to find your connection. That means that they won’t be able to flood it with unnecessary data, leaving you safe – at least for now.
3. VPN keeps you safe on public WiFi
In case you are a huge gaming enthusiast who can’t stay away from games even when traveling or taking a walk, there will come a time when you will have to connect via public WiFi. Nowadays, public WiFi is available pretty much anywhere, which means that you can play a game almost anytime. And if this seems too good to be true, that’s because it probably is. Public WiFi doesn’t provide you with a secure connection and can pose a lot of threats, such as WiFi sniffing and snooping, unencrypted networks, etc. So how can you still be a part of your favorite online gaming industry even when connected on public WiFi?
The thing about most premium VPNs is that they offer various security features. If you are using a VPN, it will encrypt your data even on a public WiFi so even if a hacker intercepts it, they won’t be able to decode it. It turns out that a VPN is your best ally when it comes to a completely secure gaming experience.
Benefits of Using a VPN as a Gamer
It goes without saying that an improved level of cybersecurity for gamers is as essential as oxygen is for humans. But it doesn’t hurt to admit that any VPN out there will come with a plethora of different benefits. By using a VPN, you get to create an illusion that you are playing from a different country. That means that you can enjoy new releases before anyone else – in case they are limited to certain areas for starters. Then, if you happen to be living in an area that has banned certain games, by masking your address, you would get access to that game you have wanted to play for so long.
Finally, with a VPN, you can completely forget about bandwidth throttling. Many internet service providers throttle when they see that a specific amount of data has been transferred. It’s no secret that games spend a lot of data per hour, and how much they spend, depends on the game you are playing, as well as what you do in it. The way through which a VPN allows you to play longer (and safer) is through the encryption of your data. Your internet service provider will have a hard time figuring out whether you are playing the game or just surfing the web, keeping your connection steady and fast.
The Bottom Line
The conclusion is a simple one – in the days where cybersecurity for gamers has become such a talked-about topic and with the solution for the problem dangling right in front of your face, there isn’t a reason to decide against investing in a VPN solution. There are many different VPN providers out there – all you have to do is choose the best one for you and enjoy your improved level of online safety.