How to Stay Safe While Traveling for the Holidays or Anytime!
The holidays are upon us, and many of us will be traveling to be with friends and family. You need to make sure when traveling with data you stay safe. There are the bad guys like snoopers on public networks at the airport and pickpockets who want to swipe your phone. And then there are the good guys, like border agents who, in the course of doing their job, may inadvertently force you into a compromising position as happened to one NASA employee.
It’s best to plan ahead. Here are five tips for keeping your data safe while traveling.
- Use a trusted VPN
If you need to connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots in airports, hotels, coffee shops, etc. Be sure you have a trusted VPN that can keep your data safe and away from prying eyes. Such as Private Internet access
- Don’t use public USB charging stations at train stations and airports
They probably haven’t been tampered with but they’re incredibly easy for people to tamper with. Use a good old-fashioned electrical outlet. Or you can get yourself a USB cable that doesn’t carry data so your device can’t be hacked.
- Move sensitive data to the cloud
Whether you’re concerned with confidential business data being seen by border agents, or just worried about thieves, keep that data off the device until you really need it. Upload all your sensitive data to the cloud.
- Set up remote wipe on your devices
Remote wipe is a feature that allows you to remove all data from your mobile device should it ever get lost or stolen. Here is some documentation on how to turn on remote wipe.
- Backup your data
You should be backing up weekly if not daily even if you aren’t traveling. There is nothing worse than losing all your precious pictures or data. If you have everything backed up and your device is stolen, lost, or just died at least you have the peace of mind you still have all your data safe and secure. IDrive is a great backup solution
- Don’t announce on social media you are traveling
Keeping your data safe and secure is one thing but keeping your home safe from an invasion is another, never announce on social media that you are traveling and won’t be home. Thief’s search for this type of information on social media and plan their burglaries while you are away.
Stay safe this holiday season,
Until next time,
Megabite
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