Protecting Gaming Devices From Trojan Viruses
Everything that connects to the internet is susceptible to a virus. In every form, viruses can hold files hostage or even corrupt them so you can’t access their contents. Worse, you can spread them to others unknowingly. All gaming devices are at risk of viruses, not just desktop or laptop computers. Trojans are among some of the most menacing viruses, so you need to have a game plan for how to deal with them before they become a problem.
What Are Trojans?
Viruses became public knowledge around 1988, so they’ve been around long enough for many people to know their tricks. Gamers and tech enthusiasts typically won’t click on links in emails that look fishy, but viruses are harder to catch when they’re living in files that people may trust. Downloading something for a game can result in a virus taking hold of your device and you may not know it until it’s too late. Even gaming devices other than PCs need to watch out for viruses.
Trojan viruses may seem small, but they can have huge impacts. They can completely wipe a bank account or leak confidential information belonging to a corporation. Trojan viruses are tricky—especially because antivirus software can’t always protect against them.
Some Trojans can disable antivirus scans and your only solution might be resetting your device completely. That means you’ll have to erase any progress you made and any media you saved.
Why Should You Protect Your Devices?
You should ensure your devices have the proper protection from viruses because you can find them anywhere. Even something like a gaming forum can easily spread viruses and you may not be able to detect them.
Have protection ready for your devices, just in case you become a cyberattack victim. You must know how to secure your devices and protect your accounts before investing too much into either. Be even more careful if you share these devices with someone else.
How to Protect Gaming Devices From Viruses
Luckily, there are ways to safeguard your gaming devices from cyberattacks and viruses. The first and most obvious way to protect yourself is to enable two-factor authentication on your accounts. Even if you don’t think your console is worth hacking or stealing from, that doesn’t mean someone won’t try.
Use unique and strong passwords to prevent people from accessing your accounts. To create a strong password, string together a mixture of numbers and uppercase and lowercase letters. You can use online password generators to create a unique password that hackers will not be able to guess and viruses will likely not be able to infiltrate. Make sure to write your passwords down somewhere to keep them safe. Better yet, use a password manager that can store all your unique, complex passwords and that requires its own authentication to access. LastPass and 1Password are two common options for password managers.
Stay away from unknown or suspicious links and install good antivirus software. Keep your devices up-to-date, as hardware and software updates often provide more security. If you can disable automatic downloads, do so. That way, you can scan something before you download it. This measure is critical on computers, where you can accidentally download something with the click of a button—even without clicking on something that seems harmful.
You should also try to back up your important files regularly. If there’s ever a time you can’t prevent a Trojan virus from sneaking in, you should at least have the most recent versions of all of your important files either stored in the cloud, an external hard drive or something like a flash drive. Emailing a copy of those files to yourself also works—just remember to use strong passwords in all your accounts.
Always Be on the Lookout
Viruses can be tough to predict. They can hide in any file or make their home in any link on the internet. The best way to protect your devices is to be discerning about what you click on or download. The next step is finding the right protection for your gaming device.
Remember to safeguard your online accounts as much as you protect your devices and back up your files regularly. You can never guarantee that you’ll stop a Trojan attack before it happens, but you can prepare yourself if it does.
Image: Florian Olivo via unsplash
