A few decades ago, the dangers facing bridge players traveling to and from games were a little different than they are today.

The introduction of Online Bridge Games brought the addition of new challenges and potential dangers that bridge players could face. Online games might not require travel to get to the tables, but you’re cruising the internet highway – and here, you face a little more than just the potential of a flat.

Cybersecurity experts at BBO work hard to ensure that all Bridge Base servers remain secure, though this doesn’t mean your own internet security requires no effort from you. There’s still a lot that users can do in order to secure their end of the connection (and if you’re not doing it, you’re automatically vulnerable).

Here are some of the essential steps to ensuring your bridge connection is safe.

1. Get A Gaming E-Mail Address

Don’t use your work, main or personal e-mail address as your gaming and payment account for everything else: Instead, set up a separate e-mail address that’s meant for gaming accounts and use this to sign in.

Having several separated accounts like this can ensure that you are safer in the event that spammers, scammers or hackers get hold of your e-mail address or its information.

A recommended option is Protonmail: Run by CERN’s servers, it’s reported to be one of the safest e-mail accounts you can have. As an additional security feature, resetting your password automatically wipes what’s in it (and you can set a recovery e-mail address to ensure you yourself can get back in).

2. Choose Safer Passwords

Other than ripping traces of passwords or catching them while they’re in transit, passwords are hacked in two main ways.

One is Brute Force attacks, where different character, letter and number combinations are run against the system over and over again until something hits – literally, through forcing your way in.

The other method is a Dictionary Attack: Words are run first, relying on the fact that many people choose words or names that appear in common dictionaries – and several “dictionary lists” get used in the process.

How can you counteract this? Choose random and less obvious passwords: The more different characters it can contain, the better. Surprisingly, different languages can also throw off dictionary attacks.

3. Secure Your Wi-Fi Hotspot

If you connect to the internet via a mobile wi-fi hotspot or connection, make sure that your connection can’t be accessed by others.

Connections are primarily secured by passwords, but as illustrated, there are many ways for hackers to get them.

– Check the amount of users connected to your hotspot: If it’s more than you, you’re being hacked right now. It’s possible to ban or “kick” specific users from a wi-fi connection, and it’s possible to hide your wi-fi connection from devices outside those close to you. Just go to the settings for the relevant dongle or device.

4. Report Unauthorized Activity

Most accounts from your Facebook profile to your bank has some type of activity log that shows you when you logged in – and who is logged in right now, approximately from where. If you’ve been hacked or your accounts have been compromised, this is one of the first places you might see it.

Most bridge players wouldn’t be quiet in the event of seeing unauthorized information passed around, so don’t quiet down when you see unauthorized activity.

Check regularly for any activity you don’t recognize within these logs, and if you see something that shouldn’t be there, report it and make sure you change your passwords.