Have you ever faced a sudden flow of unwanted traffic or offline issues while your gaming was at its peak? Or been blocked by gaming platforms due to IP address issues? The underlying causes of all these issues are IP bans by website owners and DDOS attacks. Online gaming is full of the thrills of competition and social interaction. But, be aware as it also comes with certain risks. While gaming online, gamers face numerous potential threats, and IP bans and DDOS attacks are also among them. 

However, there’s a powerful tool for gamers that protects them against such threats and issues: a virtual private network (VPN). This article provides a guide on how a VPN helps gamers avoid IP bans and DDOS attacks so that you can enjoy a smooth and safe gaming experience. Let’s understand threats and break problems.

What are IP Bans?

IP bans are basically security measures or restrictions that gaming platforms or websites limit the access of users who violate gaming rules or engage in suspicious behavior. The other reasons behind IP bans are;

• Malicious activities
• Web scraping
• Suspicious behavior 
• Regional restrictions
• Undesirable traffic

How Do IP Bans Work?

When a person opens a website for gaming purposes, it saves its IP address and other details for tracking behavior and collecting data on site traffic. The automatic monitoring system immediately detects if the user’s behavior is skeptical or if it seems to violate rules. In this case, the website owner blocks the IP address permanently or temporarily. Usually, a site sends a message to the user whose IP address is banned, or often, an error code 403 forbidden appears on the screen that shows their IP address is blocked. 

As the blockage is often permanent, it leads to huge setbacks for gamers. Due to the IP bans, gamers may lose their progress. In most cases, players are banned from the entire network, and they can’t log in to the game using new accounts with the same IP address. 

How a VPN Helps Gamers Avoid IP Bans?

IP bans crash a game badly as they may keep you out of leaderboard tournaments or disrupt your socialization while playing multiplayer games. It can be frustrating, especially if you are involved in e-sports. But don’t panic as a VPN can help you enter again in the gaming world and play without striking. A VPN creates a secure link between the internet and the user’s device. Although it can’t unban your IP address, but masks real IP address with a VPN server; IP address. 

This is how a VPN helps gamers to sidestep IP bans;

Change IP Address: 

The core way a VPN helps gamers is to hide their IP address and replace it with a new one. They can appear on gaming platforms with a hidden IP address instead of the real one. So, even if their original IP address is forbidden, nothing can prevent them from getting into their desired game. They can regain access to the game without appealing to developers or waiting out the ban.

Keep Identity Private and Anonymous: 

A VPN strengthens the online privacy of the users and makes it hard for game administrators to track their location. If a user encounters a prohibition in the past, there is a possibility that the server may monitor its IP address. It will prevent users from rejoining under a different account. The strong encryption and security features make sure their identity is private and secure. Avoiding accounts from being tracked by anyone. 

Access Block Servers: 

Sometimes, game servers ban a game for any specific geographical location or region due to various restrictions or conflicting issues. If a player from a particular area is constantly violating gaming rules or causing other such problems, servers or networks block all players from that region. By connecting with a different VPN server location, you can easily avoid that limitation. As it will change your IP address according to the new location, sidestepping regional IP bans. 

Bypass Temporary Bans: 

Facing a temporary ban on your IP address? It can be frustrating, but be patient. With a VPN, you can immediately bypass temporary bans rather than waiting for unblocking. It permits users to reset their connection and access their gaming instead of waiting for the ban to be lifted. 

Prevent Targeted or False Bans: 

Most players experience unjustified exclusions due to mistaken identity, wrong accused of breaking the rules, and errors in the anti-cheat system. A VPN helps to prevent unfair targets from administrators by hiding the IP address even if their accounts get flagged. With a new IP address, you can get a fresh start. Furthermore, a VPN will also save you from being caught in a system error where you are not involved. 

Overcome Console and Game-Specific Bans: 

Players who like to play games on consoles like Xbox or Playstation are mostly front on console-specific or game-specific bans. Still, a VPN can help you get rid of this problem by redirecting your console traffic through a different server. You can effectively bypass IP bans on consoles by configuring the VPN on the router or using specific apps.

What is a DDOS Attack?

The other hardest challenge that gamers pass through is a DDOS attack. It is a malicious attack by hackers or cyber criminals on the targeted server with a flood of internet traffic. It destroys the gaming session of the players by overwhelming the player’s connection with a massive traffic flow. This gigantic traffic jam often causes lags and delays and even disconnects the gaming console from the server.  

How Does DDOS Attack Work?

Cybercriminals established DDOS attacks using botnets. A botnet is a group of infected computers or internet-connected machines that are also known as Zombie hosts or bots. When a botnet attacks the target server, each bot sends a message to the server that floods the server with fake traffic and changes normal traffic to denial of service. Due to overflowing, the server finds it tough to handle all the traffic, thus leading to slowing the targeted server and affecting the gaming experience. 

There are multiple types of DDOS attacks, such as 

• Volume-based attacks 
• Application layer attacks 
• Network layer DDOS attacks

Some of the common signs that determine a DDOS is attacking your website are

• Your website or gaming server will slow down while playing games
• If you are an admin, you can’t access your network management tools or even your site.
• Your connection will start lagging or disconnecting from the main server or internet.

How a VPN Helps Gamers Avoid DDOS Attacks?

A hacker can only attack the IP address if it can detect your IP address and incoming and outgoing traffic. When you don’t have a real fixed IP address, how can a hacker spot your traffic and intervene in your IP address? Here, a VPN plays its role. It conceals the IP address of the users and lets them browse with a changed IP address that is undetectable. 

This is how a VPN helps gamers in preventing DDOS attacks;

Masks IP Address: 

When a user browses or streams through a site for gaming or other purposes, the website collects the IP addresses of the users. Hackers and cybercriminals pick up these IP addresses and target anyone to achieve their goal. Connecting with a VPN server gives users the authority to play games with a hidden IP address. This makes it tough for attackers to target the home IP address with a DDOS attack. Even if a hacker attacks, it doesn’t impact the performance of the gaming server, as it only hits the VPN server. 

Traffic Encryption: 

When a gamer connects with a VPN, all its internet traffic passes through the VPN server. These servers come with advanced features that can handle large amounts of data traffic. So, when an attacker does a DDOS attack, the server absorbs all the incoming traffic and filters out the infected traffic before it approaches the gaming server. Thus, in this way, it improves the gaming session and gaming experience of the players also. 

Stable Connection During Traffic Bombardment: 

Most VPN servers are equipped with a DDOS protection system and are upgraded for online gaming. By routing connections through these servers, gamers can easily reduce the chances of attacks that may disrupt their games. Thus, they can continue playing games without connection drops or lag spikes. 

There are multiple other ways along with VPN that may help you prevent DDOS attacks and reap the benefits of smooth gaming, such as 

Avoid Chat Tools: 

While playing online games, most players prefer social interaction with their competitors and partners. For this purpose, many chat tools are available. These chat tools can become a way to bring malicious traffic to your server. Many popular games, such as Minecraft and others, are the targets of various criminals. Better to avoid installations of any such malicious chat tool to safeguard your gaming server from DDOS attacks. 

Keep Your Security Software Up-to-date:

To further protect yourself from DDOS attacks, update your security system regularly. Updated versions come with antivirus programs, and anti-malware tools that are able to handle all types of virus attacks. They provide an extra layer of defense alongside your VPN.

Don’t Click on Suspicious Links: 

Some intruders or hackers attract players with captive offers and video links. Don’t click on any video link or link to a website till you don’t trust the people. These clicks, along with posing a threat of DDOS attacks, are also a danger to your privacy and security.

Other Advantages of a VPN for Gaming Online: 

Along with hiding the identity of the players, having a VPN also facilitates users with multiple other benefits. Such as

Global Matchmaking: 

With a different location virtual private network server, you can expand your social circle by attaching with players of that region. Such as if you are living in France, with a US server, you can collaborate with US people. It will improve the social aspects of gaming and permit you to benefit from a diverse gaming experience. 

Access to a Diverse Range of Games: 

Some games are regional-specific and are only limited to the people of that area. If you are fond of playing new games from other regions, a VPN will make it possible for you. For this, you will need to use that location server, and then their colossal gaming library will also be accessible to you. 

Enjoy Lower Game Prices: 

Only a few people are aware of this fact: game prices vary from region to region. For example, a game that has a high subscription rate in your area may be available in any other region at a lower cost. You can benefit from lower game prices by becoming part of a region where pricing is low. A VPN will help you to avail of this opportunity. With the help of a VPN server of a location having cheaper rates, you can save a lot on subscriptions. 

Conclusion: 

Both IP bans and DDOS attacks are the major obstacles in the online gaming world. They not only influence the gaming experience by lagging servers or disconnecting them from the internet but also sometimes lead to loss of progress. Multiple reasons generate IP bans and DDOS attacks. You can get rid of these issues only by using a high-quality VPN. A VPN will mask your IP address and secure your identity to avoid popping up such issues. Along with this, it also opens ways to access a diverse gaming library of multiple regions and unblock geo-restricted content with great freedom. Using a VPN while gaming will not only improve your gaming experience but also provide you with great peace of mind by protecting your identity from hackers.