According to recent stats and figures, most cyber assaults in 2022 are focused on online gaming and playing industries. Denial of provider and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are knocking gamers offline, or cripple their devices and machines, putting them at a disadvantage against their opponents.
We have analyzed some of the motives behind DDoS attacks on gamer enthusiasts.
The following are the most common reasons why gamers are facing DDoD attacks so often lately. If you are a gamer, you must read on till the end to learn how to protect yourself from it.
Mining parasites
Most gaming gears have high computing power, which makes it a goldmine for illegal crypto miners. With a DDoS attack, a crypto miner will infiltrate the network and gain access to your device. Once your device has been infiltrated, the attacker will embed his crypt mining malware in your gaming machine. Most of your computing power will be drawn by the crypto mining malware. When you try to game on such a machine, you would experience very slow performance.
Unfair opponents
Attackers are gamers too at times. Sometimes, when a notorious player cannot win against your supreme gaming skills, they will go as low as to target you with a DDoS attack. There can be multiple types of requests made against the DDoS attack. For example, the attacker can simply ask for ransom after embedding a ransomware. In some cases, attackers have asked the victims to send gaming coins and points to the attacker in return for removal of malware from the victim’s device.
What to do if you are under a DDoS attack?
- Unplug the router.
- Turn off your computer/console.
- Wait 5 to 10 minutes before restarting your device and router.
How to stay safe from DDoS attacks?
If your gaming server or platform has been attacked, there is not much you can do. You just have to wait until the server is restored. While all DDoS attacks are a serious issue, such attacks on individual victims are far more dangerous as they are hard to notice and even harder to prevent. If you are a gamer and want to stay safe from DDoS attacks, follow the tips given below.
Hide your IP address
Your IP address contains information about you which can help a cyber attacker to target you. If you hide your IP address, no attacker will be able to target you with their DDoS or any other form of attacks. Moreover, if you have hidden your IP address and are gaming on a network that got attacked, you will remain safe as the attack will not reach your device due to a hidden IP address.
Stay updated. Keep updating
Keep all your apps, software, games, and clients up to date with the latest versions or patches that are available online. All apps and games get regular updates which include bug fixes and patches for vulnerabilities. If your apps and software are not up to date, your chances of falling prey to a DDoS attack increase exponentially.
Use a gaming VPN
With a premium gaming VPN for instance: PureVPN, you can remain safe and completely anonymous online, no matter which platform you game on. A VPN will keep you safe during a cyber attack by blocking attackers from gaining unauthorized access to your device.
Gaming VPNs can also allow you to change your location. When you change your location, you can access servers and games that are not available in your region.
