Getting ready for your next vacation requires much careful planning in regards to booking flights and hotels, deciding the specific places you want to visit, and choosing the restaurants where you’ll eat at.
But one area of travel planning that does not receive nearly as much attention as it should is data protection, and it’s something you need to be very concerned about if you plan on bringing your phone, tablet, or computer with you.
Remember that data protection is about more than just protecting your vacation photos and videos. It’s also about protecting your personal, financial, and business information as well.
Here are the top data protection tips for travelers:
1. Avoid Public Computers
Public computers may seem convenient and therefore tempting to use, but the truth is you should avoid them at all costs. The reason why is because public computers very rarely have security updates done and can already be filled with viruses. If you value the security of your information, make it a rule to not use public computers of any kind.
2. Secure Your Email
Email addresses are prime targets for hackers because of all the important information they can contain, so email security needs to be a top priority for you. Invest in software that will block scams and remove viruses and software.
3. Backup Your Laptop Before You Leave
Backing up your laptop is something you should have done already, and it’s something you should certainly do before you leave on vacation. Purchase a portable hard drive and transfer all of your files to it so you’ll have them even if something happens to your laptop.
In addition, bring your hard drive with you on your trip and use it to back up your laptop at the end of each day, in addition to any photos or videos you’ve taken with your phone or camera.
4. Encrypt Your Information
While setting hard-to-figure out passwords for your various accounts is great, you have to do more than just that to protect your data from any hackers who are more determined. This is why it is wise to enable encryption for your data. Even if someone manages to steal your hard drive or figure out your password, encryption will make all of your data appear as nothing more than random symbols and characters.
Encrypting data is also easier than you may think it is. On an iPhone or Android device, you’ll simply need to go to settings and find the encryption option. On a Windows based computer, enable a full disk encryption feature called BitLocker, and on Mac, you’ll need to do the same thing only with File Vault.
Protecting Your Data
Data protection is not a subject to take lightly, and it’s something that’s only more important when you’re away from home and traveling the world. The good news is that you can take the tips you have learned in this article and apply them to ensure that your information remains fully secure.
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