As you prepare to enter into the summer months, perhaps travel is in your near future. Whether you’re traveling locally or internationally, it’s important to ensure your devices remain secure. Follow the tips below to eliminate technology stress over the summer:
Mobile security app/MFA
Consider enabling a strong PIN, password, or multifactor authentication feature on all devices. This is often the first line of defense if your device is lost or stolen and someone tries to access it.
Back up Data
To help protect your privacy, ensure all essential data (such as photos, contacts, notes, calendar events, etc.) is backed up. Back up your data on a computer or using cloud storage. When backing up your data, ensure you are connected to a secure network.
Find My Phone Feature
Activating the “Find My Phone” feature (or any similar feature available) can help find a lost or stolen device. If your device goes missing, this feature will lock the device to prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing data and personal information.
Password Protection
It’s a good idea to use strong passwords and/or biometrics (such as fingerprint or facial recognition) to secure your devices. Ensure the passwords you use are strong and complex so they aren’t easy to access.
Update Systems and Apps
Keep your phones, laptops, and apps updated and pay special attention to keeping systems updated. Ensuring your devices are updated helps protect your devices from attackers. Consider turning on automatic updates while you travel so you don’t have to worry about keeping up with system updates.
Take only Essential Devices
Travel with only essential devices. This ensures you have less to keep track of and mitigates the risk of losing a device or getting hacked while traveling.
Privacy and Location Settings
Check the privacy and location settings on your devices and apps. Ensure all unnecessary tracking is disabled when traveling.
Turn off Auto-Connect/Caution with Wi-Fi
Disabling your device’s ability to connect automatically to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will prevent them from connecting to unknown and potentially dangerous networks.
Don’t use Public Devices
Try to avoid logging into your personal accounts on public devices. If it’s absolutely necessary to use a shared device, ensure you log out completely when finished.
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