Be safe on your summer trips

Summer is the time of vacations and that´s why this period of the year is connected with travelling for so many people. It´s not 100% about vacation travels only, plenty of travellers do it for business as well, but in general such travelling, and in most cases International travelling, is very usual within all Summer months and a lot of people is used to take their computer (laptop, tablet) with them. And that´s why we took a little look at some tips and hints of security within International travelling.

The security is not only connected with your protection against data breach or various cyber attacks. It is also about an eventual detailed controls of your personal belongings, which in extreme situations can lead up to confiscation of your devices. Also in that case you could lose your data forever (not only your device). Anyway, for both these reasons it is very suitable to prepare yourself and your device for the trip and get it in the shape. And these tips can help you with it.

1. BE UP-TO-DATE

In general, our computers are full of various software and applications. And all these programs represent a possible entry point for various cyber threats, because of their higher or lower level of vulnerability. But it´s quite easy to solve. Take your time and invest it into a proper update/upgrade of your software and applications to minimize possibillities of their vulnerabilities.

2. BE SURE ABOUT ENRYPTING AND PASSWORDING

You should repeat these words as a mantra – encrypt, work with passwords, backup. Encryption is still a great solution how to protect your data against any misuse. However, encryption of data can be illegal in some countries you should be prepared to decrypt such data in various cases immediatelly. Because, data encryption sometimes can mean that you are hiding something before the eyes of law and you have to able to prove that you´re not. When it comes to work with passwords, it is generally recommended to change your passwords regularly. If you don´t do it, change your passwords at least before your trip.

3. DO NOT BE DATA-OVERLOADED AND BACKUP

No matter if you travel for business or vacation – when you take your device with you, it is really useful to adjust the data amount you have within this device. That means, that you should clear the device of data you do not necessarilly need on your trip. You can backup such data at your home before your trip and by this step you can minimize possible consequences of a data breach or a device theft. So, even if a theft of device is not a great situation, you will be sure that you did not lost also all your data.

4. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DEVICE ALONE

Plenty of people are aware of keeping their computer (laptop, tablet, smartphone) with them and they do not underestimate such things. But still it is important to remind that you should keep such devices with you not only within public areas (airports, cafes, restaurants, toilets, beaches…), but also within your accommodation, because you never know who has sticky fingers or too prying eyes. The best solution is to take your device wherever you go, although it doesn´t have to be comfortable all the time and/or it can generate other dangerous situations.

5. I WANT TO BE FREE...

The legendary music group Queen had a song about a need of being free from something. But also a freedom has its borders and not everything, which is free, is good. And it is especially applicable when it comes around public wi-fi connections. Not only on our vacations, we, people, are used to connect to public wi-fi connections everywhere almost absolutely blithely just for being connected. But you should be more than aware that such connections represent various threats for you. The most usual danger is that your activities and everything you write or send can be monitored by „someone“. You should avoid using such free public connections or access the internet only through an application which can mask IP and encrypt data (usually a Virtual Private Network application can do that).

6. SHARED COMPUTERS? NAH!

Sometimes it can happen that your device is not working. What to do when you need to be online and send something? A solution could be a place with shared computers, usually some kind of cafe, or maybe a computer in your hotel (or hostel). But you should be very careful when using such computer with your logins or flash drives. These devices can be a great target for keylogging and usually contains sites that require you to log in. Don´t do that and better keep of such shared computers.

7. USE YOUR COMMON SENSE

You don´t have to be a „paranoid android“, but you can imagine possible threats connected with using of your device. And you don´t need to be a nuclear engineer to find a hig-tech solution to avoid them. So, use your common sense and think over everything you do. You don´t want anyone to hear you speaking about business details? Than do not speak about it in a public place. You don´t want anyone to see what is happening on the screen of your device? Then turn your screen or use a screen cover disabling seeing your screen from the side. You don´t want your video camera of your laptop or your microphone to be misused? Seal them with a tape. Wi-fi connection wants you to register somewhere and put some details about yourself there? You know, it´s better not to do that, don´t you. And with such approach to all questions you can solve almost everything. Just think about what you do.

We know that you probably know these recommendations, but reminding is a good thing, so we believe this article is useful and helping for you. Enjoy your vacation or other trip and stay safe!