Don’t let cyber criminals spoil your trip.
Travellers often take a lot of precautions to keep their homes safe when they go on vacation, but what about protecting themselves from cyber intruders when they’re on the road? It’s common for vacationers who just want to get away from it all and relax to let their guard down when it comes to cyber safety.
ESET cybersecurity researchers suggest these tips to help travellers arm their computers and other tech gadgets against attacks by cybercriminals.
Back up Data Before You Go
Back up your data before you leave your home and store the back up in a safe place. Think about moving sensitive data from your laptop hard drive to an encrypted external storage while you are on vacation.
Keep Intruders at Bay
Regardless of the tech you carry, make sure it’s screen is protected with a first line of defense — such as a strong and unique password, passphrase, PIN code, or one of the available methods of biometric authentication such as fingerprint scanning or facial recognition. By extension, set up the device to auto-lock its screen after being idle for as short a period as you can tolerate.
Limit Online Banking on The Road
If it’s not necessary, avoid online banking and shopping when you’re using public Wi-Fi. If you must bank or shop, it is far safer to use your data plan and create your own hotspot than to use public Wi-Fi.
Secure Wi-Fi Is the Way to Go
Do not use Wi-Fi connections that are not encrypted with WPA2. Anything with lower standards is simply not safe enough and can be compromised relatively easy. Disconnect from the Wi-Fi if you’re not using the connection.
Travel Lightly
Take only the bare digital essentials with you that you cannot possibly do without. Taking a minimalist approach means you not only have fewer devices to lose but, even more importantly, you’re giving ne’er-do-wells fewer opportunities to compromise your digital assets and personal information.
