It’s 2019, Do You Know Where Your Private Data Is?

Is your computer, mobile device and online casino secure?

In 2019, internet security is crucial. There are more hackers today than ever before, and they’re getting smarter with each passing year. Security software can only do so much. Laws stand to protect us from unsolicited data distribution, but cannot protect us from ourselves. More than anything, we are responsible for our own internet security.

It’s our job to keep our applications and programs up to date. It’s our responsibility to install and maintain reliable firewall and malware protection software on our computers, tablets and smartphones. We must choose strong passwords and keep them private. We must stop agreeing to anything and everything without reading the fine print.

Securing our equipment and our privacy, and avoiding suspicious websites, is the only way to ensure a high level of safety and security online.

Stop Agreeing to Everything

If you’re suddenly getting unsolicited emails, text messages and/or phone calls, odds are, you asked for it. Maybe you didn’t expressly request this communication, but you failed to refuse it. Every time you accept a website’s ‘privacy policy‘, or give an app ‘permissions‘ on your mobile device, you’re allowing someone access to your data.

Do you have any idea what the data collection and usage terms are before you click the checkbox? If you’re not taking the time to read the fine print, who knows what you’re agreeing to? Once you’ve agreed, Pandora’s Box may be unleashed. And most companies aren’t doing anything illegal. When confronted, all they have to say is, “Well, the user gave us consent…” and they’re right.

If you want to keep your private data private, stop agreeing to everything. Read the fine print. If there’s something you don’t understand, or don’t want to consent to, either leave, or contact the company. Operators must become more clear in their terms. Transparency is the future, but if we don’t stand up to companies that use ambiguous and verbose language, it could be many more years before that future comes to pass.

Forget Ps and Qs – Mind Your Us, Rs and Ls

What kind of URLs are you visiting? Do you know that the websites you visit are safe and secure? There’s no such thing as reputable pornography, so don’t even think about accessing adult websites. Likewise, if a site is selling something that sounds too good to be true, it is—move on.

One question I get a lot—one that’s more difficult to answer—is this:

“Is my online casino secure? How do I know?”

There’s no single-word, single-sentence, or even single-paragraph answer to this question. There are perfectly safe and reputable iGaming operators out there. But there are also rogue operators that pop up, collect as many new player deposits as they can in a few months, then disappear into thin air. Sometimes, a reputable operator can go rogue after several years of distinguished service.

Longevity is important, and should be the starting point of any investigation, but there’s much more to consider. Transparent business practices, licensing and regulation, account segregation, software, payment systems… all of these things matter. They aren’t difficult to define, but we can’t be lazy about it. We must take the time to ensure our own safety. Otherwise, we’re as much to blame as the rogues and hackers we seek to avoid.

Learn more about verifiable online casino security here:

Online Casino Safety Checklist

How to Run Online Casino Background and Safety Checks

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