October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and also the time when many of us are starting to plan our holiday travel. Today it’s not enough just to be safe while actually traveling. In this day of 24/7 connectivity, it is also important to make sure you safeguard all the devices traveling with you, including laptops, iPads, and mobile phones.
Consider the following tips to help ensure all your holiday travels are safe, merry, and free from the hassles of cyberthieves and hackers.
Before leaving for the airport, train depot, or bus station, check to see if your devices have a “find my device” or a remote wiping feature and activate them. In the event your devices are lost or stolen, these features can potentially help you locate them as well as wipe any personal data before it gets into the wrong hands, protecting it from cyberthieves.
When traveling, it is wise to use the mobile hot spot on your cell phone to connect to the internet, as most public Wi-Fi connections are not secure. If you cannot access a hot spot, you check the security of the public Wi-Fi connection by looking at the internet address. If you see https in the address, the “s” stands for “secure.” You might also see an icon that looks like a lock, which also indicates that the connection is secure. In addition, consider using a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, which can also aid in keeping your browsing activities private. VPNs work by encrypting your data to keep it safe from being accessed by others.
Finally, be sure to keep all of your devices with you at all times to further ensure they don’t fall into the hands of cyberthieves or hackers, giving them a happy holiday season at your expense.
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