This week is Gamescom week – the world’s biggest annual gaming event. The fair takes place in Cologne, Germany, but due to the global pandemic, this year’s event will be held exclusively in digital form. Starting with the Opening Night Live on August 27th, the three-day event will sport the biggest announcements, world premieres, tournaments, and special promotions.

Moving such a big event online will ensure the safety of gamers’ health, but the digital world is full of other dangers, such as cyber threats. As hackers might not want to miss the opportunity to cause trouble to fair players, some precautions need to be taken.

A VPN (virtual private network) can make your gaming experience safer. It is a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use option for those who want to stay safe while gaming online. “A VPN is a great security measure for anyone who is connected to the internet. It encrypts your traffic and provides you with safety and privacy, which are important for any online activity, including gaming,” explains Daniel Markuson, a digital privacy expert at NordVPN.

Why you need a VPN for gaming

Shields you from DDoS attacks. A reliable VPN prevents your computer from unwillingly participating in or becoming a target of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. DDoS attacks are sometimes used by dishonest gamers for competitive advantage either to slow down their opponents or shut them out of the game completely. Once you are attacked, multiple computers start flooding your IP address with requests, congesting your network and disrupting your gameplay.

While a VPN won’t make you 100% DDoS-proof, it can absorb a lot of punishment. The service masks your real IP address, preventing your rivals from launching a DDoS attack on you or involving your computer in one.

Helps you avoid bandwidth throttling. Internet service providers (ISPs) can throttle your connection based on your activities, and this includes downloading big-sized games. A VPN hides the information on what kind of data you are downloading and from where. In those cases where your ISP selectively throttles your bandwidth, VPN will help you avoid connection stutters.

Reduces latency. In certain cases, a VPN can help you reduce ping and therefore lag in your online games. VPNs might connect you to game servers more directly than ISPs, thus reducing the response time. To avoid delay, connect to a VPN server that is geographically closer to the game’s server. For example, NordVPN is the fastest VPN out there, whose NordLynx protocol can speed up your connections.

Allows you to play games outside of your region. This is very handy when a new game or its deluxe edition is unavailable in your country because it hasn’t been released there yet, or if you want to play a game that is blocked in your area. With a VPN that has a wide range of server locations, you can pretend to be almost anywhere in the world and access the desired game.

Protects you while gaming on public Wi-Fi. You should be extra careful when using public Wi-Fi for gaming. Hackers exploit free public Wi-Fi hotspots that use unencrypted networks to snoop on people and even collect their personal data. To protect your data against travelling from your device to an unsecured router, use a VPN. With VPN enabled, you can enjoy safe online gaming on your phone, tablet, and laptop, whether at a cafe, hotel, or an airport.