Protect your online poker accounts
It is never a bad time to remind ourselves about online security, so here are some good best practices to follow.
This month it was revealed that Russian hackers have stolen 1.2 billion online account names and passwords from 420,000 websites.
We have no reason to believe any specific poker sites were targeted, but it is a stark reminder to always look out for your online security.
Any serious online player is likely to have thousands of dollars readily available in their poker accounts at any one time, which means having their accounts compromised could be financially devastating.
Don't give anyone access to your computer
It should go without saying, but never leave your computer in the hands of someone you do not trust. One hackers' trick is to covertly install malware on your computer in order to gain access to your personal account.
The same issues can arise if you allow someone access to your computer remotely via screen sharing software such as TeamViewer. In poker, this software is often used when one player is sweating another in a coaching session.
Finally, it is highly advisable to get an additional physically-locking case for your laptop, just so people cannot access it on the rare occasion you do leave it vulnerable. Likewise, have a password to log into your computer every time it goes into sleep mode, so you are less vulnerable if you do leave it open.
Keep your computer up to date
Make sure your computer and internet browsers are up to date with the most recent operating systems available, because these often include the latest security updates. Likewise, it is a must to make sure you have a reliable anti-virus program and keep it updated.
If you do not do this, you are not always going to be protected from the latest forms of hacking and will be vulnerable to an attack.
Look out for Phishing
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire passwords and information via email by posing as a trustworthy source. For example, you may get an email from your bank asking you to update your details, but when you click on what looks like a link to your bank, it is actually a hacker's site waiting for you to input your details.
Not only does phishing happen via email, it can also happen via things like Skype or Facebook, with hackers posing as friends to lure you into a false sense of security.
Be very wary of any trusted source that asks you to log-in to their site via an email, and especially one that asks for your personal information via email reply. As a safety measure, instead of clicking on the links in an email, separately open the official site's main homepage and access it that way.
Also look out for emails with spelling and grammatical errors from professional sources, as well as emails that just look poorly presented for such an established company. Emails not addressed to your own personal name (For example ones which say 'Dear User') are also a cause for concern.
Finally look out for "masked URLs"; this is where a hyperlink might appear to go to the official site, but actually goes elsewhere. This is usually as simple as right-clicking on "edit hyperlink" on the URL to see if it differs from what is presented to you.
Consider having a separate computer just for poker
If you are a serious player and have significant sums of poker money online, you might want to consider having a separate computer which you use only for playing poker. That means no Skype, MSN, browser, or any other programmes are to be used on it ever.
Not only does this mean that you vastly limit the chances of getting your poker accounts hacked, it will have the secondary benefit of reducing the number of distractions you encounter while you are playing.
Multiple email addresses
It is also a good idea to have a number of separate email addresses for every sensitive account you hold; a separate email address for every bank or credit card you own, and likewise a separate email address for every poker room account you have. This may seem excessive, but the likelihood is if your poker accounts were ever compromised, the hacker would be knowledgeable of poker and start attempting to log into every major poker room using your email address.
Passwords
It should go without saying, but regularly changing your password once a month is a vital part of your online security.
It sounds obvious, but avoid passwords that are easy to guess; in fact, it probably makes sense to make them unrelated to poker. If your password is poker123 or WSOP2012 then you are asking for trouble.
Make sure your password has at least 14 alphanumeric characters, including special characters. Most poker rooms have a barometer of the security level of a password when you go to change it, so make sure you have one rated as very difficult to guess.
It is very important that you do not use the same password across multiple accounts. If your password is the same as your bank, your poker rooms, your forums, and your Facebook account, the hacker only needs to guess it once to get access to everything. Make sure your passwords differ from site to site, and get into the habit of changing them regularly.
If the poker room you play at offers an additional wall of security, for example an RSA token, don't miss out on using these excellent precautionary tools.
What do you do to ensure online security? Let us know in the comments box.
