By its nature, one of the key elements of online casino gaming is safety, from protecting our personal data and bank details when making a deposit, to ensuring that the platforms we use are verified and secure.
The way that hackers, phishing agents and scammers work has evolved, with new techniques being utilised to go after innocent gamers. But, with “technology for good” becoming an ever-growing concept, it’s little surprise that the way we protect ourselves has also levelled up.
In this article, we will explore how the way we stay safe while playing our favourite games has evolved.
Anti-virus
Anti-virus has been a big part of computing for more than 20 years, with major brands like Norton and Kaspersky enjoying a major market share around the late 90s and early 00s. In the old days, bulky anti-virus packages were offered as an add-on to customers purchasing PCs, often disrupting the gaming experience.
Today’s casino gamer does not want to be slowed down by bulky software or distracted by pop-ups every couple of minutes, so modern anti-virus packages are increasingly lightweight and tend to operate in the background.
Additionally, anti-virus provision is much more readily available than it once was. Many leading security apps are available for free online, Microsoft offers Windows Defender to users of its operating system, while Chromebooks have anti-virus functionality built-in.
With users connected to the web more consistently through wi-fi, apps are updated more frequently than in previous years, helping protect users from the newest threats and close newly discovered loopholes.
The anti-virus provision has also evolved to protect mobile phone users. With so much of today’s internet traffic being through the small screen, many of the established anti-virus brands have branched out to protect users of Android and iPhone devices.
We recommend checking what anti-virus you have in place before you consider entering your card details or transferring money.
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SSL certificates
There have been several innovations delivered as part of the browsing experience that are helping to protect users while they play online casino games. One of the major recent concepts is the SSL Certificate, which quickly tells the user if the platform they are browsing is secure.
Sites with an SSL Certificate display a padlock on the address bar. The certificates work by digitally binding a cryptographic key to permit secure connections, making it much more difficult for hackers to access personal information. Many browsers provide built-in safeguards that will warn a user when they are about to visit a casino platform that doesn’t offer a secure connection.
Of course, the vast majority of leading casino platforms feature SSL security and many of our industry’s aggregators help pull together trustworthy platforms. For example, the platforms featured on this list from WDW Bingo are reviewed against several criteria and are all verified as being secure. That means users can make use of welcome bonuses without added concern.
These kinds of websites offer a great starting point for exploring reputable brands, but if you ever stumble upon somewhere new, be sure to look out for the padlock in the address bar, and be sure to do a little research before making your first deposit.
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As the way, we use the internet changes, and with a growing number of gamers now accessing casinos from mobile, anti-virus provision has been forced to evolve to keep up. It’s interesting to reflect on how much things have changed, and fascinating to consider what the future may hold.