Blog Post

EA Forums Info Hub
3 MIN READ

EA Forums Online Security Newsletter - Volume 2

EA_Kalina's avatar
EA_Kalina
Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
6 months ago

 

Hey everyone, 

welcome to the second edition of our newsletter dedicated to online safety for gamers. 

Last month, we examined security measures designed to protect us from malicious programs that can appear when we are not careful when using our phones, tablets, and computers. 

We also looked at this topic from the perspective of protecting the youngest from the dangers lurking online. If you have not yet had time to read the previous edition, you can find the link here.

In this edition, we want to remind you of the basic rules of security for your online account, which you use for games and more!

As always, for participating in the newsletter, whether by sharing your experiences with us or by completing the quiz, you will receive a participation token - a unique badge on the forum.

Stay safe!

Basic rules of security for your online account.

Strong, Unique Passwords

Think of your password as the key to your digital vault. A strong password is long, complex, and unique. It should mix uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Use hard-to-guess information instead of common choices such as "123456" or "password," and avoid words that are easy to guess, such as birthdays and names like "Daniel93."

However, remembering numerous complex passwords can be daunting. You can store your passwords securely, and they'll fill in automatically with password managers. Using them, you can generate strong passwords and prevent using the same password twice.

Two-Factor Authentication (TFA)

Two-Factor Authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of verification. Google Authenticator is a popular choice that generates time-based codes, ensuring only you can access your accounts.

Google Authenticator and other apps now support seamless device integration and offer biometric options, making 2FA quicker and more secure.

Guarding Against Phishing

Phishing is a deceptive attempt to steal your data. Always verify the sender's email address and look for typos, grammatical errors, or suspicious links. Use multi-factor authentication for extra security. Keep software updated and employ strong, unique passwords. Be cautious with attachments and never share personal information. Trust your instincts; if it feels off, it probably is.

Securing Your Email

Your email is a gateway to many of your accounts. Enable two-factor authentication for your email, and regularly review your account activity. Use encryption tools for sensitive communications and be wary of unsolicited requests for personal information.

Many companies partner to ensure the highest level of security. You can read about EA's cooperation with Google in our news section "Keeping your EA account safe by working with others." This partnership addresses cases where email accounts tied to EA Accounts were compromised, allowing attackers to take over the EA Account and other valuable internet accounts connected to that email. EA has been working closely with Google to address this quickly and safely through their Cross-Account Protection program.

Google shared more about this partnership in a recent post here!

Updated 6 months ago
Version 1.0

17 Comments

  • danisoff's avatar
    danisoff
    Hero
    5 months ago

    I did some searching as well and it looks like all the comments from Answers HQ have been removed. Thank you for taking the time to go through all of them. 🙂

  • ElliotLH's avatar
    ElliotLH
    Hero+
    5 months ago

    I can try and see if I can find it since knowledge is power and I'd like to read it. Wish we had a search feature for our posts as it'd make it much easier (at least I don't need to search through my 10,272 posts haha).

    --

    Awesome newsletter as always :) I'll try to kick my brain into gear so I can add something valuable. 

  • This is all right up my ally I have posted this before and will surely post it again:

    Account Security

    As I have been cruising through the Forums lately I have come to a very sad conclusion based off of what I have been seeing/reading.

    I would like to remind everyone that account security starts with the account holder. Keeping track of your account, what it is connected to, ensuring that it is up to date and that others do not access it, is the responsibility of the account owner.

    There are all to many posts, about being hacked and banned, I forgot my password, I forgot/lost my E-mail account and or it's password, I can not verify my E-mail account or it's also been hacked. 

    I have a game book for all that. I annotate what platform, what launcher, profile name, what e-mail and the respective passwords and other relevant info like DOB etc. for those things are in it. That gamming book is kept under lock and key. I do not save that info in the cloud or on the PC. I always log out of the game/launcher and the Console or PC. I do not let the software auto connect (remember my password) I enter it each time.  Gaming accounts and associated E-mails are important, you would not write the pin to your visa card on the back of it right? And for gods sake do not game at internet cafes that is just asking to get hacked.

    If your gonna game, protect yourself and your accounts.

    Account Security/Safety

    How to keep your account and hardware safe 101:

    1. Use strong passwords for you game accounts. Keep track of your game account information (ownership) and to what other accounts they are connected to.
    2. Use strong passwords for the associated E-mail account. Keep track of your E-mail accounts and what they are connected to.
    3. Keep your gamming accounts, associated e-mail accounts and passwords up to date, login to them at least once a month so that they do not become disabled or de-activated.
    4. Do not use e-mail accounts that you cannot fully control, like those provided to you through, schools, universities, workplace and or other organizations etc. If the Org. revokes your E-mail or you leave the school, switch workplace etc and no longer have access to that E-mail you will end up having issues you do not want or need.  
    5. Do not share either of these passwords with others. Keep note of your passwords in a safe place.
    6. Enable two factor identification for both the game and associated E-mail accounts.
    7. Do not let others use your game account (Friends and family alike) because if they do something wrong on your account it is still your fault, nobody wants to have a sanction on their account because somebody else did or said something wrong.
    8. Do not use internet café’s to access your account and play, you do not know what software is on the hardware there, you do not know if the hardware at the cafe has a hardware ban and this can affect your account in a negative way.
    9. I would suggest only accessing your account with your own trusted hardware, gaming on another person’s hardware brings some of the same risks as above.
    10. I would also suggest not letting others use your hardware in order to play with their account, because if they get a hardware ban on your hardware while using it, it can have a negative affect on your account.
    11. Buying used hardware comes with risks as well. The hardware could have been banned and this is not an EA problem but a problem between the buyer and the seller. 
    12. Play nice with others, in other words do not de-mean, harass or bully others in Chat or over voice coms, both can be reported and that can also have a negative effect on your account.
    13. Use non-offensive user/gamer tag/club tags, if you get a warning about such change it, doing otherwise can lead to a negative effect on your account.
    14. Play fair, boosting and teaming are cheating.
    15. Play fair using cheating software or hardware is not fair and is really only cheating yourself.
    16. Do not buy and or sell accounts, do you really know what has been done with the account? What cyber info are you giving up? What risk is there that the account is bunk. What is the risk to your hardware?
    17. Re-read the Terms of Service agreement and the Terms of Sale agreement you agreed to play this game and adhere to it. https://www.ea.com/legal/user-agreement and https://www.ea.com/legal/terms-of-sale

    About points 9, 10, and 11, I do know that not everyone can afford multiple hardware setups for the entire family and there is trust that has to be there, talking about the does and don’ts on the use of shared hardware should be done so everybody can enjoy what they do on the hardware and everyone can be safe.

    If you believe you have been hacked take appropriate measures to secure your account and associated E-mail account https://help.ea.com/en-gb/help/account/secure-hacked-ea-account/

    If you believe that a sanction (Suspension/Ban) placed on your account was by mistake you should reach out to the Terms of Service team https://help.ea.com/za/help/account/information-about-locked-or-banned-or-suspended-accounts/

    Contacting EA help https://help.ea.com/help/faq/using-ea-help

    I hope this advice is helpful to you all for gaming and naturally as well, in real life. 

     

     

     

  • I agree that strong, unique passwords are essential for security. Saving passwords can be safe, but I personally prefer to keep everything compartmented. This means that if one account gets compromised, there's no way for an attacker to use that information to access my other accounts.

    This is exactly why I think using a password manager is a bad idea. Even if it's well-protected and encrypted, there's always a risk of it being compromised. If that happens, all stored passwords could potentially be exposed at once. Keeping passwords separate and manually managed reduces the impact of a single breach.

    I wish I could find my old article on phishing so I could contribute more to the discussion, but it seems to be lost in one of the older security newsletters. 

    Keep up the great work!