Protecting Yourself From Online Predators

Knowing how to protect yourself while online is important in order for you to enjoy playing whilst being stress-free. There are simple things that you can implement and incorporate into your gaming experience to prevent anything that could threaten your well-being.

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• Is it actually necessary to give out your real name and address while signing up for a new game? It is understandable if you are using it to get some sort of subscription in which you receive "gifts" or if you are using it as a billing address, otherwise it is useless in terms of benefiting you.
• This goes for the next "tip" too, do not give out any personal information that is not required and could potentially harm you later on, especially credit or debit cards. Unless you are planning on purchasing in-game items and subscriptions, then I highly suggest you not link them to your account until you do.
• If you are going to link your card, then try your best to routinely check your bank statements to make sure there are not any purchases that someone other than you made.
• For many games, when you register, you will need to give out an email so that the games company can send you newsletters. Create a separate email to use when signing up to games. It not only protects you from any potential predators, but also organizes all of the emails and spam sent.
• Before entering a new server, check it's encryption and authentication, and if everything is in check, then it should be safe for you to join, otherwise you could be vulnerable to hacking. Consider installing RELIABLE security software that can regularly scan your computers contents to make sure it is safe and it is free of malware.
• The most common predators are trolls that harass you and cause you distress. It may just be them simply telling you to "go kill yourself" or continuously making an in-game action to intended to stress you out and irritate you. Many of these trolls are harmless to an extent. They are just doing it to mess around with you. This is commonly known as "cyber-bullying". I suggest to ignore them and report their account/gamer tag.

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• You do want to keep in mind that you ARE putting yourself out there once you go onto the internet and you are putting yourself at risk of online predators. Always be aware of trolls and hackers and just expect them to be there, especially when you are on a multiplayer server. Parents, make sure you are aware of what your child is doing online, it is very easy to damage their image and future with just a click of a button.