is the fact that these casinos evolve constantly, competing to duplicate that “bright light city gonna set your soul on fi re” experience of their brick-and-mortar ancestors.
You have a lot of casinos to choose from as was discussed in the previous chapter, but just as you wouldn’t go anywhere on the Las Vegas Strip with your eyes closed, ears plugged, and ankles shackled, you’ll want to have decent speakers, a quality monitor, and a system with reasonable computing power to enjoy the online casino experience. You don’t need the very best, top-of-the-line machine, just something that will do what it’s supposed to without crashing, freezing, or otherwise distracting from the game.
Computer Specifi cations
Here are the typical minimum specifi cations casinos require:
✦ PC-compatible computer
✦ Windows 98/2000/Millenium Edition
✦ Pentium 200 MHz
✦ 32 MB RAM
✦ 16-bit color video card (800 x 600 resolution mode)
✦ 30 MB hard drive space
Here are the typical optimum specifi cations casinos require:
✦ PC-compatible computer
✦ Windows 98/2000/ Millennium Edition
✦ Pentium II 350 MHz or higher
✦ 64 MB RAM
✦ 32-bit color video card (800 x 600 resolution mode)
✦ 30 MB hard drive space or more
✦ Sound Blaster AWE 32-bit sound card or better
In addition, you’ll also want to download the latest versions of Macromedia Flash (www.macromedia.com/software/fl ashplayer/) and Shockwave (http://sdc.shockwave.
com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?), as well as Sun Microsystem’s Java (http://Java.sun.com).
Internet Connection
Whatever changes the industry brings, one thing is for sure: Graphics-heavy pages with lots of animations, sounds, and colored graphics are here to stay. This being the case, you’ll want to have a high-speed Internet connection to play and will similarly need to keep up in a world where today’s latest computer technology turns obsolete tomorrow.
Internet casinos usually say you can play with a 56.6bps modem. This is akin to a casino
in Atlantic City telling people in New York City that they can easily make it down the New Jersey coast on their Schwinn Sting-Ray: technically true, but hardly practical.
Crashing and Disconnecting
Speaking of computer crashing, what happens if your computer goes down in the middle of a hand? Other than possibly ruining a great hand (another reason to check that your computer’s up to snuff), you won’t suffer. The casino’s database records every move you make and keeps track of where you are in the game, even if your PC or Internet connection goes down. Simply re-boot, reconnect, or otherwise fi x your problem and log back on to the casino.
The server will let you pick up right where you left off without any loss of money. Unfortu- nately, sometimes you may appear to still be logged on even though you dropped out.
Figure 2.1 32Red Casino Connection Error Message
If that happens, don’t keep re-entering your password more than a few times, or you may get locked out. This is a security precaution to prevent someone from trying to break your password. Instead, just wait 15 or 20 minutes and try logging in again. Then you’ll get right back in on the action.
Virus Protection
Before you download anything from the Internet, make sure you have updated antivirus protection software. Computer viruses, like their biological counterparts, are simple in form and depend on living organisms to replicate and spread. The tiny piece of software that comprises the computer virus attaches itself to useful programs like a Word docu- ment or a game program. Each time someone runs that program, he or she runs the virus, in effect telling it to do whatever malicious set of processes it’s programmed to do.
If you haven’t updated your virus protection in a while or are unsure if you have any, talk to qualifi ed technical support before you download anything. As many as six new viruses can appear in a single day, so just as you wouldn’t depend on a medical textbook from the 1920s to treat your illness today, don’t depend on virus protection from even a few weeks back to protect your computer from illness today.
Chapter 2: Getting Started with Online Blackjack
Even Web sites from reputable businesses can have these malicious programs. For that matter, e-mail viruses can even appear to have come from someone you love if they have clicked on it by mistake and the thing has exploited their address book. You can learn about the latest viruses by visiting McAfee.com’s Security Headquarters. The company’s AntiVirus Response Team (AVERT) posts a list of the new viruses and Trojan horses they fi nd in their daily searches. Another location for antivirus software and virus information is Symantec (www.norton.com). Their Norton AntiVirus software is probably the best known and the most effective on the market today.
Computer Worms
Computer worms use networks and security holes to replicate themselves. A worm constantly trolls the network searching for a computer with a specifi c security hole it can exploit. When it fi nds such a computer, the worm copies itself onto it through the hole, and then starts the process of reproduction all over again. If you’re running Windows, bookmark or save as one of your favorites WindowsUpdate.Microsoft.com. Go there often to check for patches and updates. These will help shut down any looming holes in your computer that the bad guys might exploit.
♠♥♣♦ Note
The Melissa virus forced companies like Microsoft to completely shut down their e-mail servers. The Code Red worm made a quarter of a million copies of itself in nine hours.
Trojan Horses
A Trojan horse, like its ancient Greek counterpart, pretends to be something harmless on the outside but conceals something dangerous inside. A Trojan horse may claim to be a video clip, a photograph, or even an online blackjack game. Instead, it wreaks havoc on your computer when installed. Some Trojan horses may even erase your entire hard disk, wiping all your data clean.
These precursors to viruses fi rst appeared in the early days of the personal computer rev- olution. People would post them on bulletin boards and promise they would do all sorts of fantastic things if they were downloaded. Of course, once downloaded, they would spring into action with devastating consequences. Fortunately, Trojan horses cannot replicate automatically like worms. They require you letting down your guard and clicking them without thinking, so make sure you’re always thinking—if any program sounds too good to be true, don’t touch it.
Spyware and Adware
Adware are software applications that display advertisements either in pop-up windows or extra bars on the computer screen. In theory, adware should make you happy. It recovers the costs of research, programming, and development for the producer and holds down costs for the consumer. Adware gets irritating when programmers pack it with code to track your personal information and transmit it to a third party without you okaying it or even noticing.
Privacy and computer security watchdogs hate this kind of adware, called spyware, but the stuff isn’t illegal. Mostly, spyware watches what sites you go to and will simply try to pitch you with ads you might like. Malicious verisons, however, can monitor your keystrokes watching for passwords, credit card numbers or other personal information to ship out, using your own Internet connection. They can even edit important fi les on your system.
Spyware may have legitimate uses for adults monitoring kids or corporations playing Big Brother, but since they can be installed on your computer without your knowledge, it’s worth knowing they exist and how to protect yourself. Lavasoft Ad-Aware, which scans for and cleans out these programs, is a hugely popular download for obvious reasons. It’s available free from www.lavasoft.com.
Known as freeware, Ad-Aware “is designed to provide advanced protection from known data-mining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components.” Running it is part of good computer hygiene. Do so frequently, being sure to check for updates (a link is pro- vided on the program start-up window) because, as you’ve heard repeatedly now, things on the Internet move very fast.
♠♥♣♦ Note
Remove any personal information you can from your computer.
Save or burn onto discs information with your Social Security numbers like last year’s tax returns, for example.
Firewall
A fi rewall stands between what your modem receives and your computer—and therefore, between the men in black hats and you. Without one, automated hacker bots can seize control of your PC in less time than it takes to read this section. If you’re thinking about playing blackjack online for money, you’re going to have some information you want to protect. But even if you’re just using the online games, you need to protect yourself when you’re on the Internet.
Chapter 2: Getting Started with Online Blackjack
Just as any car can be stolen no matter how many anti-theft devices you install, as long as you’re logged on to the Internet, you’re at risk. The key is minimizing that risk, or to make your property an unattractive target so the thiefs move on to more tempting prey.
Does your Internet service provider (ISP) offer a fi rewall? Virus protection? Call and fi nd out. If you’re choosing a router, pick one with a built-in fi rewall. If you already have a router and it has a fi rewall, make sure it’s turned on.
If you’re playing on a computer you use for business, or that’s connected to a network, think about what would happen if someone with malicious intent compromised all the information it contained. Think what would happen if you lost that information. If you’re in this situation, consider installing a fi rewall on your machine or calling in a professional to do so. Windows XP has a fi rewall built in, so you can just enable it if you’re running XP.
Kerio Technologies Incorporated offers a personal fi rewall as freeware. You can download it for free at Kerio.com if you’re concerned about your vulnerability. Again, whatever soft- ware you use to protect you is only as good as the updates you feed it. So take advantage of the teams of techinicans working to provide you with the latest protection by looking for updates. The bad guys are constantly improving their techniques. Make sure you don’t let them get ahead of you.
Download and Install the Casino Software
I’ll critique some of the plethora of online casinos offering blackjack in the next chap- ter. As mentioned previously, some of them let you play blackjack in browser windows Figure 2.2 Windows XP Firewall
without installing any new programs on your computer. This is especially useful if your computer lacks the memory or processing power to run the large, graphics-heavy casino programs. But if you do choose to download and install some new software on your com- puter, it’s worth going over just how to do it.
Once you research the casino and think you can trust what you’re getting from it to be free of the malicious programs just talked about, it’s time to fi nd where they offer their gaming software. Nobody ever accused online casinos of shyness; they’ll usually have the Download button fl ashing in your face. Click it. Most likely, it will give you a list of terms and conditions to read through. Check out the fi ne print, especially if you’re dealing with a new casino you don’t fi nd covered in Chapter 3, “Choosing an Online Casino.”
Some online casinos will ask for your e-mail address. To protect yourself from spam e-mail or unwanted attention should your account become compromised (say by one of those viruses that corrupts your address book), consider signing up for a new e-mail account. They’re available free from Yahoo! and Hotmail. Of course, it should go without saying that you don’t want to use a business e-mail account for online gaming.
After going through these steps or sometimes as soon as you click Download, you’ll bring up a standard download dialog box offering three options: Run, Save, and Cancel.
Choose Save.
Another window will appear asking you where you wish to save the program. Make note of the program’s name so you can fi nd it later. Double-click My Computer. Select your C drive, and click the Save button. Your download will begin. This may take some time if you’re on a dial-up connection.
Once the download completes, the window will tell you that the download is fi nished or, depending on your personal settings, simply click on Close. Now the program is on your computer. Click the Start button on the lower-left side of your computer screen, choose Run, and press the Browse button. The dialog box that appears will look similar to the one you just used to save the program, so follow the same path from the My Computer tab to the C drive.
Figure 2.3 Casino software options dialog box
Chapter 2: Getting Started with Online Blackjack
Within this folder, you’ll fi nd the program you downloaded. Double-click it, and follow the installation instructions provided. Again, it’s in the casino’s interest to make this process as easy as possible, so you shouldn’t have much trouble. Usually the program will put a shortcut for launching the game on your desktop or in your Start menu under Programs.
Remember this for the next time you want to run the game.
Figure 2.4 Selecting a location in which to save the Casino software
Figure 2.5 Casino software saved on the C drive
Play or “Fun” Money Games
Fun mode. Play for Fun. Practice Play. No matter what your casino of choice calls it, these games allow you to play for virtual money. The upside is you can practice your skills while risking nothing. The downside, if you can call it that, is if you hit a stream of natu- rals you won’t be able to cash in. These are the most popular online blackjack games, as only a fraction of the people who visit online casinos actually wager money.
Most online casinos let you download their software or play on their sites for free without giving a credit card number or payment account. If a casino does ask for this information before it lets you download, move on to another one. Even if they say they won’t charge you until you’re ready to play for real cash, there are far too many casinos out there that will let you play without sharing personal information to waste your time with one that tries to push you toward paying.
Some casinos offer free games online in browser windows. These games require an Internet connection, whether you’re playing for free or paying. However, if you download a casino’s gaming software and install it on your computer, you can play it even when you don’t have a Web connection. Again, this is a great way to practice on the train, in the park, or anywhere else you just want to enjoy the challenge of blackjack.
Real Money Games
Real Money mode allows you to play for real dollars. Take special note of the term
“real.” A major criticism of online gambling is how easy it is to forget those chips on your computer screen represent your hard work. You are required to have a valid real money source (such as some, but not all, credit cards) and you must be connected to the Internet. See the “Deposit/Payment Options” section of Chapter 3 for more infor- mation on depositing and withdrawing money to and from an online casino account in Real Money mode.
Since you’ve already read up about installing the software and playing games for prac- tice, it’s a simple feat to switch to the real money game. Your main task is setting up an account. As with brick-and-mortar casinos, you shouldn’t convert more money than
If you’re suspicious of a casino’s software, copy or type its name into Google.com (putting it in quotes if the name is more than one word) along with the word
“virus” and see if the search fi nds anything suspicious.
Chapter 2: Getting Started with Online Blackjack
you can afford to lose into chips. This is especially good advice to follow since, for reasons I’ll explain later in this chapter, the United States of America does not regulate or oversee online casinos in any way. This means if you fall prey to an unscrupulous dealer who disappears with your money or refuses to pay you your winnings, you have no legal recourse.
If you’re going to use a credit card, choose one with a low limit and plenty of security.
Always expect the worse to happen so that you’re prepared in the unfortunate case that it does. If you use a card you make a lot of other purchases on, for example, you’re more likely to miss erroneous charges should your number be compromised.
Personal Information Safety
Today’s casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City are neon fortresses, yet thieves still man- age to steal from players and even the House. Since online casinos reside in countries in every corner of the world, their standards for security vary widely from tight to lax, and therefore wise online players trust their security to no one. As mentioned in Chapter 1, thinksecurity whether you decide to play for virtual or real money.
Choose a user name that conceals your identity, and never one that has your fi rst and last name. The password is often provided by the online casino, but if it isn’t, make sure you choose one that is made up of both numbers and letters, and commit your password to memory rather than checking the option to Remember My Username and Password on This Computer. If you’re going to pay with a credit card, consider using one with a low limit and dedicating it to online play only. This is a good idea in general if you’re engaging in any transactions online.
Identity Theft
We’ve all seen movies where an alien or other malicious force takes over a human being’s body or poses as them using a doppleganger. For this reason, it’s worth mentioning the devastating phenomenon known as identity theft. Think of the pit in your stomach if you lose your wallet. Who’s charging up your credit cards or taking out loans using your Social Security number? Transmiting any personal information on the Internet puts you at risk. In this section, I’ll deal with safeguarding that kind of information on your computer when you have to put it there.
Just saving it on your computer may expose it to strangers, although I’ll address protect- ing it as much as possible in the upcoming sections. Since casinos all operate off shore, they’re not covered by American laws and may not be covered by the laws of your coun- try if you’re playing from outside their borders. Not only is it impossible to seek redress, but the very nature of the Internet gives fl y-by-night charlatans unprecedented opportuni- ties to take your credit card numbers or other personal information today and disappear without a trace by tomorrow.