Safety Tips for Vacation | How to Stay Secure Online on a Vacation?

Staying secure during your vacation is essential. Holidays are meant to be enjoyed. However, with the increase in threats lurking online, and our dependency on the internet, more straightforward means need to be adopted for staying ahead of the curve.

Security tips for vacation

Read on to find out cyber-security tips for holiday.

1. Scams related to booking hotel rooms

Did you know the smartest way to book hotels or accommodation is online? We are sure you knew that but do you exercise caution?

So when you book a room, a place to dine or rental car that you will be commuting in, remember to read the points outlined thoroughly. There are people online who pretend to be experts and tour guides. So beware!

All they are out for is your money. Their websites are usually fake, and if you were to enter your financial details therein, such as your credit card info, you will be in a lot of trouble. To prevent this from happening, check to see that web addresses are https-enabled and verify whether their authentic with the Federal Trade Commission.

2. Using public-WiFi

Public WiFi networks are not inherently wrong, they are just a more natural means of trapping victims. Most of the times, said public WiFi networks are honeypots, meaning they are a way to lure users into connecting to it so that the cyber-criminals can tap into your sensitive information.

Now, would you be more comfortable if the public WiFi had a password? Of course, you would because now the chances of it being a honeypot or a fake connection are considerably reduced because it asks for a password. Networks like these such as on airports are deceptive from the onset.

The password you think you are entering may be for nothing. You are just falling for the trick to allow the cyber-criminal to take hold of your laptop or smartphone and the data therein. The workaround lies in buying a VPN for holiday service such as Ivacy.

Ivacy helps protect your online data by assigning you a different IP address when you are connected to a WiFi network. That way your real identity is hidden and you can surf the web in complete security + anonymity.

Another way of practicing safety is by avoiding public WiFi networks altogether, or you can use your services such as 3G and 4G cellular networks to get online. You can create a WiFi hotspot to get your laptop online by connecting your smartphone to a USB cable. In short, always link to trusted networks.

3. Bask in a decent Password Manager

A password manager helps you store your passwords to major social media, banking, and shopping websites. If you buy VPN for vacation, you can get Sticky Password as part of Ivacy’s bundle offerings. Sticky Password helps you get all your passwords in one place.

So when traveling, it is advisable to get the best security for your passwords because for hackers today, it is not very difficult to crack passwords and steal your data.

4. Keep tabs on your credit and debit card reports

Banking apps and internet banking help you to manage finances while on-the-go. So during travel it is essential to account for safety tips for vacation, keep a strict check on both your credit and debit card reports.

Following security tips for vacation will ensure your financial data has not been compromised. It is a good habit that will pay off at each interval of your holiday such as when checking out of a hotel, leaving a coffee place or staying at an airport. All these places have WiFi networks enabled, and well, you never know when you may have dropped your guard.

If any discrepancy is identified, at least you’ll be able to do something about it, like calling the bank and getting your card canceled, etc. rather than coming to the realization later that by not following safety tips for vacation, this has led to a nightmare.

5. Keep your devices and browsers up-to-date

See, if your devices and apps therein such as the browser and antivirus programs are not up-to-date, you are likely to fall victim to exploit kits. These kits tend to exploit vulnerabilities such as those in devices and can inject malware/install ransomware which is impossible to get rid of.

Thus, keep your device software/OS, antivirus, and apps up-to-date. And do so before stepping out for vacation. Men-in-the-middle threats are quite common where your WiFi signals are intercepted by a hacker, and from that point forward it’s… well, you know.

6. Common sense triumphs everything

Common sense includes enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) where applicable. Two-factor authentication brings an extra layer of security to your devices and accounts.

Cyber-security experts advise that you do not keep GPS on at all times. Exercise security tips for vacations because it is ONLY human to lose yourself in the excitement, so don’t. Turning it off will keep online attackers off your back because that way they won’t be able to geo-locate you.

Moreover, avoid USB outlets which are available in hotels and other organizations. They are there to charge, we get it, but there’s more than meets the eye.

Bon voyage!