Roman Cuprik, content writer at ESET, shares tips on eliminating gaming threats and interruptions with ESET HOME Security
For all gamers out there, we are about to tell you a horror story. Ready? To proceed in the main quest, you need to spend hours doing the same, repetitive task in several different locations. Of course, while completing the task, you find bugs, glitches, and invisible walls slowing your progress even more. And then (take a deep breath), the game crashes right after beating the final boss, but before the save is made.
All of this has one common result for all gamers – it´s annoying. Sadly, this is every gamer’s horror story about things sucking the joy out of playing games – and it has not ended yet. With technological progress, new annoyances emerged in the form of cyber threats targeting players, and cybersecurity technologies that are necessary for countering them possibly leading to notification fatigue.
However, at ESET, we like good endings. For all those who want to enjoy their games without disturbances and security concerns, there is a freshly upgraded, all-in-one solution: ESET HOME Security. Not only does it protect all typical smart devices at home, but it also comes with an improved Gamer Mode for Windows users, designed for flawless, uninterrupted gaming and minimal CPU usage.
Enter the arena
Gaming is no longer an amusement only for nerds or introverts. It has become a mainstream activity even celebrities openly talk about, and the global number of video game users is expected to surpass three billion in 2029.
And cybercriminals see this massive number of users as a huge arena to play in. For example, ESET telemetry noticed several significant spikes in detections of two infostealers distributed as a service called RedLine Stealer and Lumma Stealer between December 2023 and May 2024.
Like a camper with a sniper rifle ducking behind the bush, both infostealers were patiently hiding in the payloads of files, masquerading either as cheating software or as video game cracks waiting for someone to download them. So, instead of achieving easy victories or enjoying paid games for free, players could find themselves victims of malware going after their passwords, credit card data, or crypto wallets.
Other threats to gamers include:
- Credentials compromise – Using various password cracking techniques, cybercriminals try to get into the player’s account. Once inside, they can further abuse the account, and steal the player’s identity or banking details.
- Phishing messages – Attackers may spread fake emails, ads, or in-game messages, tricking possible victims into giving their credentials or redirecting them to phishing websites.
- Malicious websites – Fake websites try to persuade visitors to share personal data, or they may offer games, in-game currencies, cheats, or other free-to-download content, which is in fact malicious.
- Fake app stores and fake apps – Fans of mobile gaming can be tricked by fake app stores offering malware or adware impersonating legitimate mobile games.
- It’s not game over
These threats may sound dangerous, but, when it comes to cybersecurity, ESET also knows how to play this game, and it has created its solution for players based on two principles – security and smooth experience.
Let’s start with security. Every experienced player of strategic games knows they need to consolidate the economy, and protect borders before expanding into new territories. The same principle applies to cybersecurity – before diving into the world of video games, gamers need to be sure that their accounts, software, and devices are protected.
Upgraded ESET HOME Security gives players peace of mind in multiple ways:
- Industry-leading antimalware technology – It’s more than antivirus. ESET unique, multilayered approach to security combines AI, machine learning, and human expertise to protect players against even never-before-seen threats.
- New Link Scanner – This feature improves ESET Mobile Security Anti-Phishing that, in general, blocks potential phishing attacks coming from websites or domains listed in the ESET malware database. The Link Scanner is an additional layer of protection for Android smartphone users that allows ESET Mobile Security to check every link a user tries to open (such as an in-game message) – not only those coming from supported websites and social network apps.
- New Dark Web Monitoring – ESET Identity Protection scours websites on the dark web, black market chat rooms, blogs, and other data sources to detect the illegal trading and selling of users’ personal information. ESET technology sends prompt alerts, so users can take immediate action.
- Improved Password Manager – ESET Password Manager helps players store and organize their passwords, automatically fill in forms, and generate extra-strong, encrypted passwords. With the latest ESET HOME Security upgrade, users get additional functionalities such as an option to check their password against the password breach list.
- Safe Banking & Browsing – This security tool is designed to protect players’ financial data during online transactions (for example, while pre-ordering a new game, paying for a game subscription, or buying new gaming devices).
- Unlimited VPN – Virtual Private Network is a technology that enables the creation of a secure and encrypted connection between a device and the internet. ESET VPN can improve your gaming experience by reducing ping times, bypassing geo-restrictions on games, and protecting you from DDoS attacks.
- Uninterrupted playing with Gamer Mode
To maximize players’ smooth experiences, ESET created Gamer Mode. This feature is for users who demand uninterrupted usage of their software without pop-up windows, and want to minimize CPU usage.
By enabling Gamer Mode, all pop-up windows are disabled, and the activity of the scheduler is stopped completely. System protection still runs in the background, but does not demand any user interaction. Do you know that feeling when you get familiar with a game and can finally turn the advisor’s messages off? This is it!
The improved version of Gamer Mode makes gaming even smoother. It allows users to create a list of apps automatically starting gamer mode, so launching games is easier than ever before.
For cautious players who still want to be notified about potential threats while Gamer Mode is enabled, there is also a new option to display interactive alerts while gamer mode is running. If a firewall communication is blocked while using Gamer Mode, notifications are displayed and linked to troubleshooting wizard to resolve the issues.
The best companion
All online gamers know that, just like in video games, there will always be people preying upon their victims who just want to have fun. However, unlike cheaters, campers, and spam killers who can make only your gaming experience miserable, cybercriminals can actually harm your real digital life.
And ESET is your best companion for entering this murky dungeon. With upgraded ESET HOME Security and improved Gamer Mode, gamers can not only feel safe while playing video games, but they can also avoid any distractions. So, let’s have fun with ESET!
