Traveling is surely fun! The places you see, the pictures you’ll take and the food you’ll eat! Everything sounds exciting. But it could also be a source of stress especially when your personal data is compromised before or during your trip. Traveling, from preparations, to communications and social media, can often expose you on some data privacy risks you might not expect.
If you are traveling, ensure the follow simple tips.
- Make sure all devices have passcodes and encrypted
A lot of cases have already reported about travelers losing their devices like mobile phone or tablets or laptops during vacation, either stolen or lost. Often your device is a goldmine for personal data that can be used for identity theft and fraud. In order to avoid thieves from accessing these data, ensure to set a string password on your device and check if it’s encrypted. A two-step authentication code on everything is helpful so as not to compromise your apps.
- Guard your important documents
Wallets and passports. Your wallet should always be safe because you know you’ll be ruining your vacation if you walk everywhere without your credit card, security ID and driver’s license. Even worse, if you lose your passport. Make copies of all these important documents and keep them at your fingertips. You can also take a picture of these items and lock them up on a safety digital vault. Just don’t lose your phone!
- Get a cheap, burner phone
The cheap smartphones are always easy to bring around and relatively less risky compared to your expensive one. If you just need to call or text for communication and get basic access to internet, you can be less exposed to data privacy risk with a burner phone.
- Only Use Password Protected Wi-Fi
Internet is always helpful, especially in case of emergency. Public WIFI could be a potential source of data privacy risk, but if you really need to connect, make sure you choose a network with password protection and not the public free WIFI. Make sure to log out on your emails / social media after using it.
- Use a VPN
It is always safer to use VPN to make sure that your browsing and other activities are private and secured, especially when you travel and try to get access from an airport, hotel or café. Also, log out of any personal accounts after using.
By following these very simple tips, you can add a layer of protection for yourself and have a peace of mind while wandering around.
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