The 1.8 update went live for Marvel’s Avengers went live on June 22. It was meant to add a new Cosmic Threat Event, Beating the Odds Villain Sector, and some general patches for online gameplay. It was released around the world on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Stadia. The 1.8 update had a glitch specific to the PS5 version that displayed the IP Address of the user on-screen. This was not caught in testing and unfortunately many players encountered the problem.
The development team immediately went to work trying to fix the problem. They also sent out many messages via social media asking people to stop streaming the game, while they were working on a fix. Unfortunately this was not heard by all the community and some streamers had their IP address leaked. On June 23rd, developers of Marvel’s Avengers put out a hotfix stop it from being displayed, but for some the damage had already been done. Luckily this patch did work and the PS5 version can be safely streamed now.
The dangers of exposing your IP address
This is a horrible bug that can be quite dangerous. This would help give people an idea of your location. For people streaming the game, this glitch was a nightmare as some of their personal information was doxed unintentionally for the world to see. In the wrong hands, your IP Address can be used to gather more personal information about you. This information can help hackers commit DDoS attacks, hack your local devices, and even find out your real life name and address. Often this information is sold on places like the Dark Web to others. Some companies that find it may spam you with personalized advertisements based on your IP.
How to protect your public IP Address with a VPN
Here is a quick guide to get you started playing video games with a VPN.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN (includes a 30-day money back guarantee)
- Download the ExpressVPN app and connect to a server in the region you wish to play in.
- Test to see if your ping has lowered from your normal response time.
- Launch the game and enjoy!
Having your personal information put on the internet without your consent is scary. Privacy is one thing that we all cherish. A VPN can help you in situations like this. It helps by masking your IP address and giving you a new one in a location of your choosing. A VPN protects you from bein DDoS attacked and from your information being doxed. If a game was ever to have an IP leaking glitch like Marvel’s Avengers a VPN would help. An IP would still be shown, but it would be one that was assigned to you and not your real one. A VPN will keep you safe while you play games online.
