http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0TPFnIIInM
Some of you may have heard of the PC game Diablo III, which was released last month with a shocking $210 million in gross sales made in just the first day. With the booming gaming industry valued at $65 billion, it has become a major target for hackers.
At one time or another, so many of us have set our eyes on a video game. Technology is evolving and growing at such a quick pace, making video games available while you’re on the go or sitting at your computer.
What is there to steal you wonder? Some popular games just happen to have virtual items that actually hold cash value in the real world. With Diablo III as one of the most highly anticipated games ever, we’ll use it as an example. Hackers have been breaking into player accounts to steal gold and other valuable items from within the game.
Here are four simple tips to prevent your gaming account from getting hacked. These tips can and should also be applied to your email, Facebook and any other online accounts.
1. Usernames and Passwords
While it can be annoying to keep a different username and password for every online account you own, it is a necessary step to fortifying online security. If you don’t want to make different usernames for every online account, at least separate your social networking usernames and passwords from your banking account ones.
If someone gets a hold of your password for one account, they have the possibility of hacking into the rest of your online accounts. Also, get creative and get rid of the ABCs and 123s in your password because that’s what hackers are looking for. Here is a list of the most popular (and worst) passwords from Techland.
A quick suggestion is to use upper and lower case letters in your password, and don’t use dictionary words. Hackers have programs that plug every word in the dictionary to see if it works.
AND THE TOP 25 MOST USED PASSWORDS ARE:
password
123456
12345678
1234
qwerty
12345
dragon
pussy
baseball
football
letmein
monkey
696969
abc123
mustang
michael
shadow
master
jennifer
111111
2000
jordan
superman
harley
1234567
2. Keyloggers
A keylogger is a software program or hardware device that is used to monitor and log each of the keys a user types into a computer keyboard. The user who installed the program or hardware device can then view all keys typed in on that computer. Because these programs and hardware devices can easily identify user passwords and other information a user may not wish others to know about, copying and pasting different parts of your password when registering it can also be helpful.
Keyloggers, as a surveillance tool, are often used by employers to ensure employees use work computers for business purposes only. Unfortunately, keyloggers can also be embedded in spyware allowing your information to be transmitted to an unknown third party.
3. Anti-Virus Program
It’s important to secure your computer with a trusted anti-virus program and run a scan ever so often to check if your hard drive(s) are all healthy and functioning properly. If you’re not sure which one to go with, we recommend the AVG Anti-Virus 2012, and the best part is it’s free, so you have no excuses.
4. The Battle.net Authenticator
The Battle.net Authenticator is an optional tool from Blizzard Entertainment that offers Diablo III players and Battle.net account users an additional layer of security to help prevent unauthorized account access. If you don’t want to pay for it, you can download the app for free to your iPhone or Android.
To get an in-depth explanation of all these tips, check out our video above.
Share this video with your friends on Facebook. Also, Father’s Day is just around the corner, so if you’re looking to buy something your dad online, take an extra moment to do your homework and check out last week’s Father’s Day blog.
If you have a complaint, please feel free to submit one here.
Sources: http://www.actualspy.com/articles/keyloggers.html
See Also
How To Deal with a Security Breach and Protect Your Private Info
How To Create a Password Even Your Ex Can’t Hack
Everything You Need to Know About Keeping Info Secure on Public WiFi
The “LINK” at the bottom of the article that was supposed to take a person to an “In-Depth” explanation did not work, and I really would have liked an “In-Depth” explanation.