I have seen quite a few topics across the forums that are along these lines:
“How did I get hacked I used a unique email/password?”
So I figured I would write a quick guide to not getting hacked.
This guide will be split into 3 parts:
1)Password Management
2)Username Management
3)Malware Security
Password Management
The first step is learning how to make a strong password and the strongest possible passwords are always going to be random char-strings, however a good password is also easy to remember. Here is the strategy I use.
1. Come up with a fairly long easy to remember sentence.
For this example we will use this : “I like to eat green bananas every Thursday at 9 AM.”
2. Take the first letter of every word like this: “IltegbeTa9A.”
Now so long as you can remember that sort of ridiculous but fairly simple sentence you can remember your password. And as you can see the password would appear random to just about anyone. Try to pick sentences that have a proper name and and at least one number in them to get some capitals and numbers. Also exchanging the words to and too with the letter 2 can get you an extra number.
Don’t be afraid to write this sentence down either, MMO hackers aren’t going to get inside you house and even if they did how would they know what it means?
Also change your password every so often even if you have no reason to assume its been compromised. For something extremely sensitive once per month is advisable, for something like this once every 3-6 months is probably fine.
Username Management
Getting an email just for a game is a bit of hassle but their are a few ways of making it less so.
Many services (including Gmail) offer free mail forwarding. I you set up an account and set mail forwarding to you current email all emails sent to this new private account will be immediately forwarded to your current email address.
The strategy described here which I wont go over again is also a very effective way of obtaining an alternate email without hassle, although this is not quite as secure as separate account.
Malware Security
There are two kinds of anti malware software and you should optimally have both.
One is the active kind, this is the running in the background variety that actively scans things as they arrive to your computer.
Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG Free Edition, Avast! ect. ect. are free examples of this form of anti malware. My personal preference is Microsoft Security Essentials because it has no paid version and as such doesn’t hassle you to give it money.
The other form of anti malware is the scan only type. This does not actively protect you but scans only when you ask it too.
I hope this does not come off as advertising or product endorsement but…
For the love of god, get Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. This software is amazingly capable of finding things that even the best active anti-virus misses. It is not only adept at finding the issues but it is among the best at removing issues once found completely. The free edition is not as good as the paid version but its close enough.
Run this at least weekly, probably daily.
Cliffnotes Version:
Passwords – Think up a sentence and make your password by taking the first letter form each word. Change your password regularly.
Email – Get an alternate email someway somehow.
Malware – Get Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, and some form of active protection as well. Scan weekly.
Follow these simple guidelines and you will significantly reduce your chances of getting hacked.
Good Luck Everyone