Playstation 4 Security Tips for Safe Gaming

• By Ginger Hill
• Dec 11, 2013

Are you one of those “cool” parents? You know who you are…secretly scheming and planning on surprising your child or children (and yourself…come on, just being honest) on Christmas morning with the gift of immersive gaming with the new Playstation 4 (PS4). While you will probably be nominated for “Parent of the Year,” the following tips will help keep your children (and you) safe while journeying into the gaming world of PS4.

Set your PS4 operating mode to “safe mode” to make sure your PS4’s hard drive and hardware are scanned for errors and corruption after an improper power-down or hard drive replacement. Activate “safe mode” by holding down the power button for at least 8 seconds, enabling your PS4 to come on in “safe mode.”

Keep your PS4 login ID, passwords and credit card numbers private to protect your online gaming account from hackers. Never give this information to anyone. Make sure your password is strong by using a unique combination of at least 8 characters with upper and lower case letters and numbers. Note: PS4 gaming network operators could ask you to reset your password, but they will NEVER ask for your password.

Create a PS4 “master account.” This account has all the authority to configure your PS4 settings, so make sure that only you know the passcode to this account to prevent others from making changes.

Create a PS4 “sub account.” All parental control settings are imposed here. Go to “parental controls” à “sub account management” à “create new sub account.”

Log into your PS4 with your face. Take advantage of PS4’s biometric abilities to help prevent hackers from getting into your system by figuring out your password. With a Playstation Eye, there is an option to log in via face recognition in which the system takes several snap shots of your face to properly identify you before giving access to your PS4. Keep the Dualshock 4 controller in the view as a security layer.

Never give out your location. Sony collects geographic information that can be misused. No matter what the game says, geographic location does NOT enhance your PS4 gaming experience.

Create a PS4 security plan. Make sure that everyone who uses your PS4 gaming console knows what information he or she is allowed to share with the online gaming world. Information like the games being played, video and still shots being captured, your location, your Facebook account and any posts made while gaming online can all be compromised should Sony’s network get hacked, and with this data in the wrong hands, yours and your family’s safety can be compromised.