1. Regularly scan your computer for viruses.
I strongly recommend using at least two different virus scanning programs to scan your computer on a regular basis (at least once a week). There are many free antivirus programs to choose from. My two favorites at the moment are “Microsoft Security Essentials” and “Avast! Antivirus”. If you run these programs regularly, there is basically nothing going through and infecting your computer.
2. Don’t use the same password everywhere.
If you use your favorite password on all (or most) of your online accounts, all an interested hacker has to do is find it once and all of your online information is open to them. It’s better if you have a different password on your WoW account than you do on your favorite forums, YouTube, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, or your email account.
3. Never respond to an email that asks you to confirm your account information.
This should be obvious, however it seems that many people still fall for this trick. Blizzard will NEVER ask you to confirm your information or fill out any additional forums with your information. None of Blizzard’s beta sign-ups require you to fill in your account information. Blizzard already has all your information.
Another way to make sure you don’t follow a bad link is to always type the battle.net URL by hand. this way you know you are going to the right website and not a fake site.
Here is a quote from a Blizzard General Manager on this topic:
“Always check the internal routing headers on emails. Those will always show whether or not Blizzard actually sent them. While it can be hard to find sometimes, all email programs have some facility for displaying headers – never EVER blindly trust the DE in an email, which is as easy to forge as writing a false return address on an envelope.”
4. Get a separate email for your WoW account.
If you have a separate email for your World of Warcraft account (which is only used for your WoW account), then you will not receive any spam or scam email. That way, if you get an email that appears to be from Blizzard, but lands in your normal inbox, you’ll know it’s fake. You can easily create a new free email in just 30 seconds. I suggest you use gmail, because it offers the most space and is the easiest to use. It is also one of the most secure email services.
5. Do not listen to any in-game messages you may receive that ask you to go to a website.
If it’s not from someone you know, you should ignore any whispers that include the name of a website. Following links from unknown players is likely to get you some lovely viruses and keyloggers.
If you’re interested in more great World of Warcraft guides, check out our free WoW guides.