Free games – the trouble they can bring

The telework boom is a consequence of the confinement due to the coronavirus. A deployment that, due to the conditions in which it has been carried out, has caused that for quite some time (in some cases even today) workers are using their own devices to carry out their work activities and we will see why we must be careful to when looking for free games.

We have already discussed this issue on multiple occasions, and the dire consequences that both poorly managed BYOT and shadow IT can have in terms of compromising the security of the entire infrastructure that those devices enter. The problem is that, of course, if an employee voluntarily puts his devices at the service of his employer, the latter is not in the circumstances to tell him that their use is exclusively professional. In other words, it can’t stop you from searching for free games and installing them on your PC to enjoy during your free time.

What does enter the field of possibilities for IT managers who have to deal with this anomalous situation, is to inform and train workers, also bearing in mind that this will not only result in the benefit (by way of security) for the company, but also for the worker, whose personal assets can also be compromised by a deficient security policy against certain threats.

With this present situation, and taking into account that confinement, whether total or partial, as well as mandatory, has substantially increased the consumption of video games and we must be very careful when browsing these sites and downloading, that is why we will see some tips to use when searching.

▸Download games from trusted sources

For their scams, many cybercriminals resort to the “bait” of free games, more specifically to offer as free games (or add-ons for them) that are usually paid. Before giving credibility to what each website offers you, look for information about it to verify its legitimacy.

▸Search from the browser address of the game store

Whether in an email, on a website, through social networks … any link that points to free games and that, supposedly, points to the website of a legitimate store, must be rigorously verified. Phishing can creep in how and where you least expect it

▸Read reviews from other players

It was discovered that the developers of the game Abstractism, which had passed the Steam controls, were using the computers of the users of the game to mine cryptocurrencies. Steam acted quickly by removing the game, as expected, but before this happened, several users had already warned of this behavior in the comments of the game in the store.

▸Do not disable protection

A recommendation that, unfortunately, is quite widespread, is to disable antivirus, firewall and other security solutions. The first thing is that this is false in 99% of cases. And in the second because, even if there is a certain decrease in performance, it is better to play at a couple of frames per second less, than to leave the door open to threats.

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