A Gamer's Guide to Not Getting Hacked

[Julio Franco]

If you play video games, you are an ideal target to get wrecked by hackers. Gamers are very online. They log in to a lot of stuff. They have some money. They want to be better than other gamers. And they like to use the password "Dragon."

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1620-gamers-dont-get-hacked/

 

[BSim500]

"Still, there are some unassailable, totally exploitable truths about gamers: They are very online. They log in to a lot of stuff. They have some money. They want to be better than other gamers. And they like to use the password “Dragon.”"

Is it wrong to not actually feel that bad about "pay2win whales" getting hacked in the process of incentivising the entire industry to shove MT's into everything? Call me old-fashioned but my idea of "want to be better than other gamers" = 'then put your wallet away and practise more'. As for those who've lost interest in multi-player, here's a tip: 1. Play Offline. 2. That's it...

 

[Ravey]

I just use 2 step authentication whenever possible. If I forget a password, I just request a new password and go through the process of resetting it. these days resetting your password can be just a couple of clicks.

I also log in using facebook wherever I can. saves all the hassle of creating new accounts each time I find a new game to play

 

[Evernessince]

I just use 2 step authentication whenever possible. If I forget a password, I just request a new password and go through the process of resetting it. these days resetting your password can be just a couple of clicks.

I also log in using facebook wherever I can. saves all the hassle of creating new accounts each time I find a new game to play

The problem with Facebook is that malicious actors can gather plenty of data without access to your password.

 

[Jamlad]

One time in 2008, I tried to pirate a copy of Spore and got a virus that bricked my computer instead. Did I deserve to have my $600 laptop destroyed?

On this I call bulls**t. Did it also shoot flames out the USB ports and slap you with your own mouse?

You need to have crazy passwords for everything. According to our sister site Lifehacker, passwords that are long and include numbers, capital letters and symbols are great.

The problem with this is humans are awful at memorizing random assortments of characters and computers are great at attempting all possible combinations, brute forcing it. That randomized eight character password only has, let's say 72^8 possible combinations. 7.2e14.

A passphrase is always stronger. Even if you only used the 1000 most common words in the dictionary a five-word passphrase still has 1e15 combinations. 10 times more than your random eight characters, and more memorable. Then throw in your own variation.

Capitalize a random word:
2000^5 = 3.2e16, ten times stronger again

Make one of the words l33tsp34k:
5000^5 = 3e18, 1000 times stronger than the basic passphrase

Insert a single random number before, after, or between the words:
1000^5 x 10^5 = 1e20 combinations.

 

[Nobina]

One time in 2008, I tried to pirate a copy of Spore and got a virus that bricked my computer instead. Did I deserve to have my $600 laptop destroyed?

On this I call bulls**t. Did it also shoot flames out the USB ports and slap you with your own mouse?

You need to have crazy passwords for everything. According to our sister site Lifehacker, passwords that are long and include numbers, capital letters and symbols are great.

The problem with this is humans are awful at memorizing random assortments of characters and computers are great at attempting all possible combinations, brute forcing it. That randomized eight character password only has, let's say 72^8 possible combinations. 7.2e14.

A passphrase is always stronger. Even if you only used the 1000 most common words in the dictionary a five-word passphrase still has 1e15 combinations. 10 times more than your random eight characters, and more memorable. Then throw in your own variation.

Capitalize a random word:
2000^5 = 3.2e16, ten times stronger again

Make one of the words l33tsp34k:
5000^5 = 3e18, 1000 times stronger than the basic passphrase

Insert a single random number before, after, or between the words:
1000^5 x 10^5 = 1e20 combinations.

Don't you know that viruses live inside your computer case and eat your hardware like thermites?

 

[Uncle Al]

Another reason I prefer single player games that can run "off line"........

 

[Ravey]

The problem with Facebook is that malicious actors can gather plenty of data without access to your password.

Point taken, is there a Password Manager you would recommend then?

Preferably one that can do the following:

1. Is free
2. Allows me to sign up to new websites and groups without creating new profiles.
3. emails/contacts me if any of my linked accounts are accessed (or access has been attempted) from anywhere other than my current or known locations.
4. Has a built in 2 step authenticator for extra security.
5. Has a companion phone app compatible with iOS / Android
6. Can alert me of any large scale security breaches that have affected any accounts I own so I can update my affected passwords.

Thanks

 

[MaikuTech]

I just use 2 step authentication whenever possible. If I forget a password, I just request a new password and go through the process of resetting it. these days resetting your password can be just a couple of clicks.

I also log in using facebook wherever I can. saves all the hassle of creating new accounts each time I find a new game to play

Thats why its best to have email verification incase you or someone else decides they want to reset your password to get in.
Somone tried to login to my windows live account a few weeks ago, surprisingly enough MS put the brakes to it.
They verified my credentials and had me reset a few things to make it more tighter.

 

[ShagnWagn]

"Good hacks happen to good, vigilant people"

Good? Hmm. Is anyone here a good person? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSUKIhjevo

 

[mbrowne5061]

The problem with Facebook is that malicious actors can gather plenty of data without access to your password.

Point taken, is there a Password Manager you would recommend then?

Preferably one that can do the following:

1. Is free
2. Allows me to sign up to new websites and groups without creating new profiles.
3. emails/contacts me if any of my linked accounts are accessed (or access has been attempted) from anywhere other than my current or known locations.
4. Has a built in 2 step authenticator for extra security.
5. Has a companion phone app compatible with iOS / Android
6. Can alert me of any large scale security breaches that have affected any accounts I own so I can update my affected passwords.

Thanks

Keepass has the first 5, plus it is open source, so the code is 'auditted' by all the tinfoil hats out there. You won't find number 6 without paying for it in some way (buying a license or information harvesting)

 

[Evernessince]

Point taken, is there a Password Manager you would recommend then?

Preferably one that can do the following:

1. Is free
2. Allows me to sign up to new websites and groups without creating new profiles.
3. emails/contacts me if any of my linked accounts are accessed (or access has been attempted) from anywhere other than my current or known locations.
4. Has a built in 2 step authenticator for extra security.
5. Has a companion phone app compatible with iOS / Android
6. Can alert me of any large scale security breaches that have affected any accounts I own so I can update my affected passwords.

Thanks

I'm sorry, I honestly know nothing of password managers. I come up with random combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols for my passwords and just remember them for the websites I visit.

If you have a hard time remembering traditional passwords it might be a good idea to come up with a naming scheme for your passwords. For example, your password for TechSpot could be "CechSpoC1967". All I did there was take the name for the website and replace all the Ts with Cs and added a potential birthdate to the end. This password scheme employs the use of a very simple shift cypher and can be use for any website. For example "AnandCheck1967", although you may which to choose more than 1 letter to swap out. This method is resistant to a dictionary attack and even if hackers did have your personal information they would not be able to guess your password. I would typically recommend that you make no password less than 10 characters, so if it end up being too short, simply adding filler characters to the end will make it drastically harder to crack. For example "CCeck1967vv". Always add these characters to the end and always make passwords that are less than 10 characters the same length. Decide on a length you will make passwords <10 characters up to and do that for every password that needs it.

 

[Ravey]

Thats why its best to have email verification incase you or someone else decides they want to reset your password to get in.
Somone tried to login to my windows live account a few weeks ago, surprisingly enough MS put the brakes to it.
They verified my credentials and had me reset a few things to make it more tighter.

This hap

Keepass has the first 5, plus it is open source, so the code is 'auditted' by all the tinfoil hats out there. You won't find number 6 without paying for it in some way (buying a license or information harvesting)

Actually I think RoboForm May do all of the things I need too, If that's the case I may just shut down my facebook account

 

[OutlawCecil]

The problem with Facebook is that malicious actors can gather plenty of data without access to your password.

Point taken, is there a Password Manager you would recommend then?

Preferably one that can do the following:

1. Is free
2. Allows me to sign up to new websites and groups without creating new profiles.
3. emails/contacts me if any of my linked accounts are accessed (or access has been attempted) from anywhere other than my current or known locations.
4. Has a built in 2 step authenticator for extra security.
5. Has a companion phone app compatible with iOS / Android
6. Can alert me of any large scale security breaches that have affected any accounts I own so I can update my affected passwords.

Thanks

LastPass has your entire list in the free version.
I've tried a thousand password vault apps and LastPass is the best for one (very critical) reason. I always have access to my passwords, securely, and from any computer, anywhere. Me personally, I locked down my LastPass to USA only (I don't travel overseas), enabled 2 factor authentication (I ALWAYS have my phone with me), and I use LastPass to randomize all my passwords to the max characters websites will allow. I like doing 32 or so, which is crazy when you actually see it. LastPass auto fills (or I can login to the website and copy-paste) all my passwords for me so no worries on remembering anything. LastPass has been hacked before but all hackers have gotten is highly encrypted data. LastPass has never been successfully realistically hacked. I love it and can't see how I survived without it. Other password vaults require a lot more copy-paste work, require you to carry around a USB drive, and have their own forms of vulnerabilities.

so lets see...

1. Lastpass is pretty much free if you don't need to share passwords. My wife and I both sign into my account on our computers and phones and share all the same passwords. Boom. free.
2. Technically no password manager does what you described here. Lastpass can change your password to popular sites without even visiting the site and with a click of a button, remember or update your password for any given site. That's about as close as you'll ever get.
3. They have tons of options for notifications of leaked passwords, offer a password security "test" where it grades you and gives you details like how often you use the same passwords...etc. The website will also list any of your passwords that were involved in hacks and recommend you change certain ones.
4. 2fa and more if you enable it. It has a long list to choose from and even combine.
5. mobile app is also free! ios and android
6. same as #3 above. They notify you of everything.