It is important if you play games online then you should stay as safe as you possibly can. Online Safety is important. Online games can be huge fun and can allow you to play against great players from all over the world. Unfortunately, just as there are some great players out there, there are also a few bad apples, who want to ruin the experience for everyone and take advantage of the unwary player. Therefore, you should follow our tips to keep yourself safe online.
The More Popular the Game the Bigger the Target (News - Alert)
When it comes to those that want to take advantage of players then the more popular games see more players attempting to exploit the gullibility of others. Massive games like Fortnight, CS:Go, League of Legends and World of Warcraft all have seen their share of players be the target of people with bad intentions. This can be either by posting supposed exploits for the game that in fact give personal information or allow access to the target computer, or it could be to bully or abuse people online. Therefore, you should always take sensible precautions before you play any game online.
Keep Your System and Games Up to Date
Games and systems, such as PCs, Macs, Games Consoles and Mobile Devices are being constantly updated with fixes, patches and improvements. These aren’t always there to add new content or new features to games. Most patches are there to fix security holes and vulnerabilities that have been discovered in new systems. This means that is vitally important that if you are going to play online then you should make sure your system is up to do. Most online games will not let you play until you are completely up to date anyhow and this is designed to create a level playing field for all players, but it also helps to keep you safe from those that would do you harm.
Be Careful When Talking with Other Players
As the classic phrase goes “On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog”. This is a way of indicating that you don’t know anything about anyone you speak to on the internet other than what they tell you and nothing they tell you must be true. This means that when dealing with other players you should always be careful. Never reveal anything about yourself. Don’t give away any information that could be used to identify you. You should never give away passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, or street addresses to someone you don’t know in real life. This is particularly true if you are still under 18. Just because someone claims to be a young girl or boy this doesn’t mean that they are. So, don’t discuss anything about your life outside of the game with anyone you meet online.
Always Report Bad Behaviour
There are many ways that players can behave badly in-game. This can be anything from ‘griefing’, where a player is intentionally doing something to prevent you from playing the game properly, through to sending you messages or saying things on chat that makes you uncomfortable or distressed. This sort of behaviour should be reported immediately through an official channel and if you are a child then you should also tell your parents about it. Most games have inbuilt facilities for either muting players or blocking them outright. It is good practice that unless you need it in order to be able to play the game, then you should always mute other players. You can always block other players that message you directly and stop them from contacting you. You should always report someone who makes you feel uncomfortable in a game as you might not be the only person they are doing it to and the more reports that a company gets the easier it is for them to take action against them.
Final Thoughts
Online games can be a huge amount of fun, and a great way to meet new people, but you should make sure that you always stay safe. These are just a few of the tips you should know in order to have safe online fun. Above all be the sort of player that you would like to play with.
