4 Online Privacy Tips while Travelling to Any Corner of this World

With Wi-Fi connected laptops, vehicles, and mobile means of transportation; it takes no time for a traveler to bring her or his entire world of business or personal stuff online. While this is fascinating, it is also alarming as well. That’s because those Free public Wi-Fi hotspots or shared devices are unsafe, most of the times, no matter where they are.

It is not uncommon to hear stories of hacking and privacy breach these free public spots. Well, it is obvious that you would never wish to have such consequences while enjoying the freedom to access Internet from almost anywhere.

Well, the fact is that it is almost challenging to stay safe while using those different Wi-Fi connections at a hotel and at airport and adhering to the different Internet usage laws in varying regions. Still, no matter where you are going, it is essential to have a secure access to the Internet so that your privacy, and consequently your data, remains intact.

This means only carrying your belongings and some means of entertainment are not the only things to carry while traveling. It is equally important to protect your smart devices. Keeping this in mind, here are 5 easy tips for protecting your online privacy, as you are on the go.

Use a VPN

If you have no option other than to use the public Wi-Fi hotspots, get smart and use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection via an app or service with it. Such a connection encrypts all your Internet connection and protects your data from different attacks.

It also helps to bypass the censorship rules of different countries. For example, you can us HBO Go VPN wherever you go and watch HBO, even if it is prohibited in the country in which you are traveling. There are some more VPN benefits as well.

Turn off all geo-related features

While it is fun to post photos and videos through social media for sharing them with your family and friends while on the go, it is also risky to do so. This is because you are also telling about your current location to both known and unknown people.

It is unwise to do so, as not everyone should know where you are. Who knows which of them can turn out to be a hacker? Thus, it is wise to switch off the geo-tagging and geo-location features.

Geo-tagging is common in apps such as Instagram and Facebook, through which the app requests your location and phone number and posts the same via your post.

In case the GPS is off, the phone will still work by tracking all the surrounding wireless access points. Many of these points remain in one place, which means once an app knows where the phone is, it is easy to track the location through the point.

Do also turn off the Wi-Fi when not in use, and even Bluetooth!

Lock your screens

Do you have a built-in screen lock feature? Well, it is time to use it! Locking your phone’s screen is a simple and effective way to protect your mobile phone from a myriad of threats. It constantly protects your privacy, provided you make it tough for others to guess. Yes, you need to set a tough-to-guess pattern or pass-code.

Use a tracking app

It is not surprising to hear stories of robbing computers, smartphones, and tabs because of their high resale value. However, you can minimize this risk for your mobile devices by using an anti-theft protection. There are many apps that allow tracking these devices and even recover them in case they are stolen. A few of these apps are such that they can send you the photos of the thief, share the location of the stolen device, and control the device remotely.

About the Author:

Deep Ballu is a blogger by profession. He loves to talk about tech updates and is very social in nature. Writing is his first love. He is an amateur photographer by day and blogger by night. Give him a cup of cappuccino and he can talk for hours.