Protect Your Tech While You Travel

Summer is fast approaching, and for many this means a time to travel. Are you headed off to a tropical destination with friends or family? Or maybe you are traveling for work either out of state or out of the country? No matter what the reason for your excursion, certain steps and guidelines should be followed while you are away in order to protect the technology that you will inevitably want to bring along. Most travelers today can’t seem to live without taking some sort of technology with them, whether it is a smartphone, laptop, iPad, external drive, or digital storage device. Thankfully there are some steps you can take to protect both your hardware and data while you are on the move. Here are a few that we recommend.

Travel Light - Leave as many devices at home as you can. The more you take with you the more likely things will get lost or corrupted (as in the case of a USB drive). If you can not bear to be without your tech while you travel, or if you need it for work purposes, then consider using a loaner device that only has the data on it that you need.
Backup - Always backup your data before you head out, that way if your tech is stolen, lost, or damaged, you will have a way to regain that information. Also, you may want to consider travel insurance if the unexpected were to occur to your tech.
Stay Alert - Never leave your technology unattended, even if you feel the area is safe or you expect to be gone for only a few minutes. Be aware of your surroundings when you are logged in to a public Wifi that may leave your data vulnerable. Staying digitally connected while travelling often means that you will connect your devices to public networks in hotels, airports, train stations, and conference halls, which employ minimal security measures.
Encryption - Be sure that your device has updated software with the latest security protocols, has a locking device such as a PIN, password, or fingerprint access. In addition most experts suggest using data encryption or full disk encryption. Encryption is a way of securing your data so that it can’t be accessed without a password, even by people who have physical access to the device it is stored on. Keep in mind that, if you are traveling out of the country, customs officials like to poke around with tech coming and going from the country. So don’t be surprised if you are asked whether your device is fully encrypted.

Are you traveling for work or pleasure and need assistance protecting your technology? Call Spectra Networks at 978.219.9752, or visit our website at Spectra Networks to stay on top of your security issues. ]]>