Should PC gamers use an antivirus?
Multi-player gaming is popular in the gaming environment. Gamers that want to use such an environment must first create a profile, which may include their social media account and other sensitive data.
Nowadays, gamers are now doing more online activities compared to other PC users. And as such, gamers are now more exposed to threats, both offline and online.
Antivirus software is usually overlooked by gamers, as most of them don’t understand that it maintains their system and keep the information in their computers private. Not having an antivirus means your PC is the proverbial sitting duck in cyberspace.
However, standard antivirus software uses a significant part of some PC’s hardware resources, which might result in some performance lag of your computer while gaming. As such, you might want to opt for one that offers you seamless gaming and top-notch protection. To make an educated choice, you should read expert recommendations of BestAntivirus.com.
Why you should use antivirus for your PC as a gamer
- Hard Drive problem
Highly advanced viruses have the potential to halt your game, wipe out the hard drive, and even make your PC obsolete. It can result in a situation where you lose all the data related to the game and every other data, both personal and business.
A more worrying reason is that viruses can now alter the data on a hard drive without the consent of the owner.
The consequence of this problem is that you’ll have to purchase another hard drive, and your information may be gone permanently.
- Computer performance
The performance of your PC may be greatly affected if viruses, Trojans, or malware infects it. It can block your game or any other software from functioning, prevent you from accessing the internet, and eat into your hard drive space.
Most games, whether online or offline, require a high RAM to function, but a virus-infected PC can find it difficult to perform the most basic function, talk less of using it to play a game. However, antivirus software can help to block the virus from gaining access to the PC and also inhibit any attempt to install an irritant.
Also, even when you get an antivirus, you should regularly scan the PC to ascertain that nothing slipped through the antivirus firewall.
- Keep your kids safe
If your kids have access to your PC, whether you’re using it solely for gaming or other personal and business activities, it’s highly sacrosanct that you have antivirus on it. Why?
I’m sure you’ll also agree that there are lots of pornographic sites out there, and kids can mistakenly find their way there. It could be by pop-up ads or by redirection; irrespective of how they get on your screen, the best way to prevent them is by using an antivirus.
Quite often, parents are concerned about the safety of their child/ward in the garden, in the playground, and on the playground, but they forget to do the same on their gaming PC. Avoid this mistake by getting an antivirus to protect your kids.
- Identity theft or misuse of personal data
Cybercrime is the fastest-growing illegal activity, and their tricks are getting more sophisticated as time goes. Some online and offline games are created by criminally minded individuals with the aim of obtaining personal and sensitive data of its users.
Some individuals may also install spyware on your PC through online and offline games to read your email, check your bank account, and share documents. An absence of a potent antivirus can let malicious software enter your PC and send sensitive data to criminals.
Some malware can also record your keyboard input and send those details to hackers who plan to log into personal accounts with the detail.
- Implication in crime
Some hackers have viruses that they use to penetrate weak firewalls and use the victim’s IP address for illegal activities.
This is quite different from identity theft as the aim here is to illegally access your computer with a motive of performing nefarious activities like; sending junk mails, making illegal downloads, or storing illegally obtained files on your storage facility.
Other ways to secure your PC as a gamer
- Use passwords that are secure and complex
- Keep up with software and system security updates
- Be wary of every website, game, and game source that doesn’t seem legit
- Encrypt any highly sensitive data you have
- Use a VPN
- Ignore spam
- Back up sensitive data on an external drive
In Conclusion
While you’re simply trying to play anime games on PC, some hackers may be targeting your device for harmful reasons; and they are getting more sophisticated and witty by the day.
If you’re a PC gamer, you have to be particularly careful as they can gain access to your PC when playing games online or when installing games from shady sources. As such, you should use an Anti-virus and stick to every other advice given in this article as it’ll help your PC to be more secure.
