The Ultimate Holiday Shopping Guide: Secure Gadgets for Everyone

The holidays are almost here! That means it’s time to start making your list and checking it twice. To help prepare you for this year’s holiday shopping spree, McAfee is providing you with the ultimate holiday shopping list for every Tech lover in your family. Here are the devices to keep on your radar this holiday shopping season and what you should use to protect them.  

For the Gaming Guru  

Know someone who enjoys vanquishing aliens, building virtual amusement parks, and online battle royale? There’s a good chance that you do, as online gaming traffic increased 30% from the first to the second quarter of 2020. For the gaming guru in your life, consider gifting them a top-of-the-line gaming laptop so, they don’t have to compromise portability for playability. If they prefer to play in the comfort of their own home, consider giving the gamer in your life a snazzy new gaming monitor. This will allow them to enjoy a crystal-clear resolution, rapid refresh rate, and size to bring their virtual world to life. And to truly immerse your gamer in a new realm, gift them a new gaming console so they can enjoy optimal speed and stellar game lineups.  

When shopping for your gamer, consider how you can empower them to stay secure while they play. A security solution like McAfee Gamer Security not only delivers a faster, quieter, and safer experience, but it can also boost a rig’s performance. This antivirus software detects threats through the cloud and optimizes resources to minimize frame drops. Gamers can even customize which games to boost (or even add other apps they’d like to boost), which background services to pause, and more. This improves your gamer’s experience and also keeps them safe while they play.  

For the Mobile Mastermind 

Does your tech-savvy teen love to browse on the go? Or perhaps you have a college student who likes to bring their online studying and video streaming with them beyond the home. For the mobile mastermind in your family, gift them a new smartphone or tablet this holiday season. These devices will allow your loved ones to access all their favorite apps and surf the web anytime, anywhere.  

With the World Wide Web constantly at their fingertips, enable your family members to surf the internet with confidence by employing the help of a safe browsing solution like McAfee WebAdvisor. This trusty companion, available for free and included in the McAfee Total Protection app for iOS and Android, helps keep users safe from threats like malware and phishing attempts. Web Advisor blocks malicious sites, scans downloads, and alerts the user if a known threat is detected. With comprehensive security on their side, your mobile user will be free to search, stream, and download on the go.  

For the Smart Home Supervisor 

The number of smart households (households that contain connected technology and can interact with other IoT devices) in the U.S. is expected to grow to 77.05 million by 2025. That may not come as a surprise, since IoT devices have upped the convenience of tech users’ lives everywhere. Perhaps your spouse or parents love filling their home with the latest and greatest smart home gadgets. This holiday season, give them the gift of convenience with a smart TV, speaker, thermostat, kitchen appliances, a personal home assistant – the list of smart home devices goes on!  

While these devices can provide greater efficiency to anyone’s life, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks that come with this level of interconnectivity. Many product designers treat security as an afterthought, rushing to get their smart devices to market and consequentially creating an easy access point for criminals to exploit. But fear not! A solution like McAfee Secure Home Platform can automatically secure connected devices through a router with McAfee protection. It can hide your IoT devices from hackers, giving you the confidence that you have a solid line of defense against online threats.  

 For the Fitness Fanatic 

 At the onset of the pandemic, people adjusted their workout routines to accommodate for gym closures and began to rely on other solutions to stay fit. In fact, many turned to IoT devices used for virtual fitness, including wearable fitness trackers and stationary machines equipped with digital interfaces. Sound like someone you know? Consider giving them a stylish new or upgraded smartwatch that allows them to track their daily step count, heart rate, and sleep patterns.

While these devices can be instrumental in tracking users’ activity levels, it’s important to remember that wearable gadgets collect valuable health and location data a criminal could exploit. To keep your fitness fanatic happy and healthy without sweating their security, encourage them to install software updates immediately. This will protect your loved one’s device from reported bugs, enhance functionality, and seal up any security loopholes. 

Secure for the Holidays  

As you plan your holiday shopping list this year, don’t forget about the gift that keeps on giving: the peace of mind that comes with having the right online security! With comprehensive solutions built to safeguard your loved one’s devices, personal data, and everything they do online, they can continue to live their digital lives with confidence.