Cyber Safety While You Travel
Cyber theft of personal information is increasing around the world. Travelers typically place themselves at a greater risk of being victimized without even knowing it. Make sure you take extra precautions to prevent your information from being stolen.
Here are some tips:
- Back up your information before you leave- Whether it is backed up in the cloud or on an external drive, back up all of your information before you leave in case you need it!
- Keep all software up to date- Keeping software up to date means that all security software will be up to date as well. Hackers have an easier time with outdated software.
- If you can put a password on an app, use it! - Make sure to change passwords often as well. You can even use an app to keep all your passwords in one place!
- Log out after every use on important websites (banking, school resources, etc.) - Logging out after every use means those without your password won’t be able to get in. If your phone or laptop is stolen, those important websites should be safe.
- Do NOT connect to unknown devices or networks at any point- Public Wi-Fi is unencrypted, which means anyone can use those connections to plant malware on your device. Make sure you know where you’re connecting before you connect!
- Terminate Wi-Fi connections after use (forget the network)- Just because you’ve lost the Wi-Fi connection doesn’t mean they’ve lost your information. Make sure you forget any Wi-Fi networks after you are finished using them so the owner of the Wi-Fi can’t harvest any valuable information.
- Consider using a VPN- VPNs will help protect and encrypt all information you use while traveling. If you have many important documents, consider using a VPN in a public space. Here is the Ohio Office of Information Technology’s page on accessing Ohio University’s VPN.
- Disable Bluetooth when not in use- People can use Bluetooth connections to steal your information or plant viruses on your device. Make sure to disable Bluetooth whenever you aren’t using it. This will extend your battery life too!
- Change passwords regularly- Make sure to change passwords often (at least every six months) to keep sensitive information safe. Passwords are often compromised in data breaches, so it’s good to change them regularly. Check your status on haveibeenpwned.com.
- Enable “Find my phone” on your mobile devices- This function will show the last location of your phone if you lose it. You can also enable remote wiping so you can erase all information from your phone if it gets stolen.
Additional Resources
Below are additional resources to help you learn about protecting your information: