If you play video games by connecting to a public Wi-Fi, you’re taking a risk.

It is likely that you will use the internet away from home. Whether on a smartphone, tablet, or portable PC, utilizing public Wi-Fi networks is not advisable for security reasons.

Playing connected to public Wi-Fi: not the best thing to do

Playing video games anywhere you go is a joy beyond words, but doing so at the right places is equally important. Public Wi-Fi networks are discouraged if you do not have a VPN, for several reasons:

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Data Security: Public Wi-Fi networks are often insecure, meaning that transmitted data can be intercepted by malicious third parties. When playing online, sensitive information such as login credentials, game account details, and other personal data can be vulnerable to attacks like sniffing (data interception). Attackers can use tools to capture unencrypted data packets exchanged between your device and the game server, potentially leading to identity theft or unauthorized access to your accounts.

DDoS Attacks: Players may become targets of DDoS attacks, which seek to overwhelm their internet connection with a large volume of simultaneous requests. This can result in game interruptions, disconnections, or significant latency, rendering the game unplayable.

Public Wi-Fi can often be congested in places such as cafes, airports, and shopping centers, leading to high ping rates and reduced gaming performance. This congestion results in higher latency, which can cause lag and make real-time interactions with other players challenging.

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SurfShark safeguards your gaming sessions, but that’s not all…

Secure Data

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) such as Surfshark encrypts all data transmitted between your device and its secure servers. This ensures that even if an attacker intercepts the data, they will not be able to read or use it. The encryption provided by Surfshark VPN adds an additional layer of security, protecting your sensitive information from unauthorized access.

**Protection against attacks**

A VPN masks your real IP address by assigning a new one. This makes it harder for hackers to locate and directly target your internet connection. If an attack is launched, it will be directed towards the VPN server’s IP rather than your own connection, thus helping protect your bandwidth and maintain a more stable gaming experience.

Using public Wi-Fi for online gaming poses significant security risks due to threats like data interception and DDoS attacks. Additionally, network congestion can result in high ping rates and poor performance. A VPN, such as Surfshark, helps mitigate these risks by encrypting data, protecting against unauthorized access, masking your IP address, and safeguarding against targeted attacks, thereby ensuring a secure and stable gaming experience.

Surfshark VPN provides gaming-optimized servers that are strategically located to reduce the distance between your device and gaming servers, thereby smoothing out latency and enhancing connection stability. By routing your connection through a more efficient Surfshark server, you can avoid local network congestion and enjoy a smoother, faster connection, even when using public Wi-Fi networks.

Surfshark VPN offers are available at 80% off.—Playing video games on public Wi-Fi is not recommended due to security risks such as data interception, DDoS attacks, and high latency causing poor performance. Using a VPN like Surfshark can help mitigate these issues by encrypting data, masking IP addresses for protection against attacks, and connecting through gaming-optimized servers to reduce lag and improve stability, ensuring a more secure and enjoyable online gaming experience.