Cybersecurity hygiene for the wanderlusts
There are many of us who love to travel. The lures of adventures and scenery overseas are too much for many of us to handle. Hence, we pack our luggage/backpacks and off we go for our holidays. But wait, are you ready for the cybersecurity threats out there while you are happily on your holidays? Here are some cybersecurity tips for you wanderlusts :)
Protect yourself before you go
Next time while you plan your itineraries, pack your stuff and psyche yourself up for the next adventure, do also immunize yourself against some cybersecurity threats. First, always backup your important data at home before you go on a trip. You never know if you will lose your phones or laptops while you are overseas. Even though you might be financially covered through a travel insurance. The data in your device will be lost forever if you lose it. Hence, always do some kind of backup so that you have a copy of your important files intact at home or in the cloud.
Next, as much as possible, turn off those wireless connectivity functions on your devices. Things like wireless, bluetooth, NFC and what-not should be turned off by default and only on them when you want to use them. If you carry a credit card, perhaps it might make sense to get a RFID protection sleeve to avoid wireless theft overseas. Also ensure that you have set your devices to not connect to public WiFi automatically.
Finally, before you leave for your trip, update your anti-malware solution on your devices to make sure you are protected against the latest malware threats.
Be careful of what you share
We all like to share our exciting journeys and even brag about them at times. However, there are many sensitive personal information in things like your airline itineraries, boarding passes and even receipts. Hence, think twice before you share those information. It might make sense for you to mask out certain information before you post them on social media.
Also, avoid sharing your location while you are on the trip. It might be safer to share your trip after you are back at home so that potential perpetrators cannot leverage on such knowledge to do something funny. Be it to you or to your loved ones.
Be skeptical of freebies
Always be skeptical of things that come free. When you need to connect to that free WiFi, always remember that your traffic might be tapped and sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers might be leaked. Hence, it is always important to use a VPN while connecting to a free WiFi. In addition, always ensure that you are connecting to a SSL-enabled site (sites that start with HTTPS).
Next, try not to use public computers. If you have urgent need to do so, avoid logging in to any of your emails, apps or internet banking. If you really have to login to your apps, use a private browser (e.g. Firefox private mode or Chrome incognito mode). After you are done with whatever you need to do, remember to explicitly logout and close the browser before you leave the computer.
Last but not least, be careful of any free stuff that requires you to provide your personal information. It can be as innocent as a lucky draw or a free ice-cream cone. Some of them require you to complete a form with your name and contact details. Avoid them if you have no need for those freebies. However, if you are really having a FOMO. Then here are some tips. If you are asked to provide information on a physical form, typically people won't verify the information on the spot. So you can always provide fake data. However, some require email verification. If that is the case, consider using a temporary email, for example from 10 Minute Mail, instead of using your real email addresses.
There you go and I hope you will be better prepared against cybersecurity threats when you next go on your holidays. Thanks for reading!
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Good advice. 😊 Luckily, I am not tech savvy enough to any equipment which I have not been using before. So, usually when I travel, I don't log on, log in unless a friend is around to advise me.
Thanks! Haha.. avoidance is always the best form of risk management
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