Protecting Your Personal Data While Traveling: 5 Tips
Are you getting ready for an upcoming trip? Or maybe you’re still thinking of where your next destination will be? Well, before going anywhere, you should get to know how to protect your data while traveling. Tourists tend to forget the importance of security, which is why they’re targeted by criminals more often than locals, both in the real world and the virtual world. To ensure that you can enjoy your trip to the fullest without worrying about getting hacked and having your data stolen and leaked, start following the 5 security tips below.
Table of contents
Be careful with wifi
Public wifi is known to be a point of entry for hackers because of weak or no encryption. To protect your data, be highly cautious when connecting to wifi while traveling and ensure that the network is secure. Also, turn off auto-connect to make sure that your device doesn’t automatically connect to an unsecured network.
Secure your accounts with strong passwords
Hackers sometimes use password guessing methods to get into a user’s accounts. Use strong passwords to ensure you are not susceptible to such attacks. Ideally, change your passwords every once in a while, especially after you get back from traveling. There are plenty of special security apps and tools adapted to iPhones, Androids, Windows, or any other OS to make this process as easy as possible.
Install anti-malware
To protect your device from data-stealing malware, download the appropriate security software. A simple antivirus program will already add lots of protection to your data. If you accidentally click on a malicious link that attempts to plant a virus on your device, the anti-malware software should get rid of it.
Update everything
Before you leave for a trip, check if your OS or apps need any updates, and if they do, download them. Software updates help patch security vulnerabilities in devices, which are important in protecting your data from cyber attacks. Even when you aren’t traveling, your software should always be updated.
Keep Bluetooth off
When your Bluetooth is on, hackers might be able to connect to your device and eventually hack it, which can result in the loss of your data. Throughout as much of your trip, turn Bluetooth off and keep it off.
Enable auto-lock on all devices
It may be convenient to disable auto-lock on your phone, but this is very dangerous for personal data security. If you lose your device somewhere, you want it to lock as soon as possible to ensure nobody can steal any of your data. To be extra safe, set auto-lock after 15 or 30 seconds.
Be careful what you broadcast
Try to refrain from broadcasting exactly what you’re doing and where you are while traveling. Wait a few days until after you’ve left a place to post pictures. If you post your exact location at a given time, people with malicious intent might be able to find you, so only let your friends and family know where you are.
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