The No-Nonsense Guide to Data Security for travelers

The No-Nonsense Guide to Data Security for travelers -

On the first Tuesday of each month, Dave Dean of too many adapters gives us good tips and advice on travel tech and transmission. This month's article is on data security. It is topic that many travelers (especially people like me who work online) ensures Dave immerse themselves in the subject today.

If there is a less sexy travel theme as data security, I do not know what it is. If you plan your trip and to the elbows in guidebooks, maps and blog posts about secluded beaches and delicious food, there will be no backup strategies or file encryption that will get your heart racing.

And this is a bit of a problem. If you plan to tow a smartphone, tablet, or really to protect laptop around the world, your data counts. It does not take much effort or cost to keep safe themselves - but if you do, you are seriously in danger of losing all of your travel photos that you your identity stolen and hacked accounts and a technology headache that is much more painful than one night drink at the local inn.

below are detailed ways your memories, to secure the right way, protect your data, and avoid the common security mistakes. Thereby the following things that you never be stressed about the technology and the information you use on the road and share.

Public computers are bad news.

When I started in the late 0s, traveling, Internet cafes were pretty much the only way to get online. I remember in a sweaty little shop in Dar es Salaam, dust and smoke bent sitting forms from the nearby road through a faulty keyboard with a dim haze as I struggled with the slowest link in the world to let them know my family, I was still alive.

Many of these dusty cafes, as have shut down use as travelers their own devices and the world cheap Wi-Fi connections. From the standpoint of security, which is a good thing. Public computers are bad news. This dilapidated old desktops in internet cafes or the corner of the hostel common room can also be a big sign saying to them: "Please steal my data." Why?

• They are usually full of all. Species unknown software
• security and virus updates are installed by employees and customers over the years
not done - no one cares enough to keep right things. I searched again for viruses to amuse a hostel computer only to me, but stopped after it found 50 in the first few minutes.
• It is very easy to install key-logging software that allows you to capture all enter it sift everything it looks like usernames and passwords, and send off for others to use.

In short, if you get online have another way, use it.

If you must use a public computer - it's a dire emergency or you really need that the boarding pass to print - there are a few ways that are safer it is to make a little. These are not foolproof, but they are a good start:

• do not do something of money . This means that the online banking, Paypal and other financial services, as well as buying something online, you need to enter credit card information, are taboo. They are received only unnecessary risk by doing so.
• two-factor authentication for as many online services as possible . These combine something you know (like a password) and something you have to create (an SMS message, telephone, fingerprint scanner, or specific app) disposable passwords. Even if your account information is stolen, no one, otherwise it can use to log in. SMS-based authentication systems can be a problem for travelers, especially, check if your phone do not work abroad, so, other options such as the Google Authenticator app for your phone or tablet first.
• USB sticks can help . If you travel with your own laptop or Android device and need something to print out, copy the file to a memory stick beforehand and use it instead of signing on a shared computer to e-mail. You can also copy the software you are likely to need on a USB stick, and that is installed on the computer, instead of the dubious versions use use. Even just a browser like Firefox or Chrome Portable portable use is a good start. Check out Portableapps.com the field of portable software to see who is available.
  Remember to scan your USB drive for viruses from a device on a regular basis you trust.
• At an absolute minimum Incognito / Private Browsing mode the Web browser use are stored to prevent your data, log of all the applications you use, and the computer restart when you are finished with it.

public Wi-Fi is great, but it is not certain.

cafes, hostels, airports and even parks and public spaces often offer cheap or free Wi-Fi, that anyone can use. Sometimes it's hard to know where a signal also came from, but if we can see it, you can bet we will try to use it.

This is where the problems begin.

By default a lot of your data to third parties with the right tools is visible as it moves over a wireless network. Networks that are password not much better than those do who do not - how many people were given the details for your Hostel Wi-Fi in this month? When was last changed the password on the cafe table?

you have that other people assume connect to the network, you can use. Once they have done that, you can be at risk to protect any data. Someone can literally sit in the corner to have a coffee while her computer scans and stores your personal data.

So what should you do?

• Always use Virtual Private Network (VPN) software. In simple words, can a VPN to connect to a server somewhere else in the world, and encrypts all information exchanged between you and it happens. Good free options are tunnel Bear and Cyberghost which are upgraded in the free paid services. I use Witopia PersonalVPN Pro, which costs around $ 6 / month and has in every country I worked there tried in. Search for a service that can be used with both laptops and mobile devices, and that specifically says it works in China. If it works there, it is likely to work everywhere.
• If for some reason you can not use a VPN, at least protect your web browsing. Try typing https instead of http in the address bar -. give access to Gmail, for example, you would https://gmail.com If a padlock appears next to the address, the data that you send from this site and receive is encrypted. If you are using Chrome, Firefox or Opera, it's even easier. Install the HTTPS Everywhere plugin and it will do this automatically for you
• It is much harder mobile networks as Wi-Fi intercept those, so if you have to do a bit sensitive and access at reasonable prices Cells information on your phone or tablet, use it

backups are boring -.!, but you need to do it

Secure your data while driving boring. Let's face it, there is always something to do much more interesting ... up to the point where you lose the thousands of photos you have taken on your journey, or the phone number and email address of everyone you met have. Laptops get stolen, breaking hard drives, get phones fell into the toilet, memory cards are damaged. Bad things happen, and you need to prepare for them.

There is an old saying among geeks like me that at a location stored data does not really exist. For travelers, this usually copying new files does not mean in another device as soon as possible, and somewhere online long after.

There are many different approaches that you can take, depending on the gear travel with you and what you need to back up. I'll cover a few common scenarios, and you can read more details here, here and here.

traveling with a laptop, see? Read This!
For those who travel with a laptop, backing up is easy if you follow a simple process. Before leaving on your trip, choose a portable hard drive upward (they cost as little as $ 50 for a 1TB model). Every night, copy the photos of the day from the camera or smartphone, then plug your hard drive in and back everything up. Now, even after you delete recordings from your phone or camera SD card, you still have two copies of them.

theft, fire, water and much more you can take out your camera, laptop and portable drive all at once. To be sure, you will also need an online backup. Due to slow and erratic Internet connections while traveling, these backups can take a long time to run - I started my while traveling in Australia and New Zealand, and it does not end until I later to Thailand was 4 months

[

! Free options like dropbox, iCloud and Google plus are in order to store a limited number of pictures, and I did. for a few years Finally, though, I moved to a paid subscription to CrashPlan - for around $ 5 / month I have unlimited online storage for any type of file, and it runs automatically when I have an Internet connection. ( Matt says : I use CrashPlan It's my proverbial life stored on more than one occasion.).

If you are using a Mac, the built-in Time Machine automatically does a good job of managing disk backups. If you only want to copy photos, documents and music to online storage may iCloud suit your needs - you get 5GB storage for free and can easily buy more

For Windows users, there are dozens of ways. , As I mentioned using CrashPlan because it automatically deals with both disk and online backup at a reasonable price. There is a version for Mac also, if you need or want that back up all file types unlimited cloud storage.

not travel with a laptop? Read This!
If you have decided not to carry a laptop when traveling, the backup requires a slightly different approach. The first challenge is to copy pictures from the camera to a smartphone or tablet - here's how to do it for both devices Android and Apple, as long as you have enough memory

Once you have your photos transmitted. It's time to back them up to another device. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest way is to provide a wireless hard drive (something like the Seagate Wireless Plus) to buy, which creates its own hotspot, then you use the app takes it backwards with files and forward to copy. Added bonus: This is also a good way to carry a big movie or music collection, without filling your smartphone or tablet

The easiest part of the process your recordings is securing online - it will happen , automatically when you copy the files from the camera to the correct folder on your phone or tablet. Those with Apple devices can only enable iCloud, while Android users can achieve upload feature of Dropbox the same thing with the camera. In any case, only pay for as much additional cloud storage as you need -. It is a few dollars per month in most cases

The protection of your data if it is from the hand of

Sometimes bad things happen no matter how careful you are. Laptops, tablet PCs and phones are attractive targets for thieves. While your equipment someone steals can not always prevent you to make at least a few precautions to stop them and can access your data.

always a PIN code or password using
The first step is always to set a PIN code or password on the device. It only takes a few seconds to do and is a good deterrent to opportunist thieves. On your laptop, use a long password that does not appear in a dictionary and is not easy to guess. If your phone or tablet PIN numbers supports more than four digits, use a - and if you are using a current model of the iPhone or iPad, the Touch ID fingerprint scanner and allow

enable encryption.
If PIN numbers and passwords are to hold good for casual eyes of your personal data, encryption does the same for more determined snoops. Even if someone is pulling the hard drive from your laptop or manages to bypass your PIN number, your data is protected. Without the correct password, the information just a collection of random characters. It is easy to set up on most devices, and is or soon will be enabled by default on new iOS and Android devices.

• If you activate with a Mac, FileVault.
• For those who activate with certain high-end versions of Windows 7 or 8, BitLocker. In the future, most new Windows-based computers will be shipped with encryption enabled.
• encryption of sensitive data is enabled by default, if you use an Apple phone or tablet iOS runs 8.
[1945011soaktivieren] encryption on newer versions of Android, go to Settings> Security> Encrypt phone and follow the instructions.

note that the encryption of all data may take several hours to complete, so do not start the process, if you use your device to have anytime soon go.

-Tracking and remote wipe track
software like Prey, Find My iPhone and Android Device Manager all offer different features for your stolen gear. They can characterize their situation, take pictures and videos, audio alarms to report messages on the screen, and more, and have helped unite many people with their technology. Make sure that you set up and working properly before your equipment is lost!

If all else fails, and you have decided that your devices simply do not come back, you can say any of the above software remotely everything on the device the next time you delete it with the Internet connects. At least this way you have to mourn only the loss of your technology, and not your personal information as well!

Some parting tips

and all covered up, there are a few other basic tips to help keep your data safe on the road you:

• Use anti-virus software from the bad guys to keep. AVG makes a good, free antivirus system that I have used on Windows and Android for years, and there is a (non-free) Mac version also available.
• Regularly update your device software. In other words, do not ignore those annoying prompts security patches and new software versions to install - they are there for a reason! Wait until you have a decent Internet connection, then you run it.
• Instead of using the same password for everything terrible use, use a password manager unique, super-strong passwords for all of the different sites and create services that you use. I personally use LastPass (free on the desktop, a dollar a month on mobile), but there are some other options. I now need only to remember one master password -. The one for LastPass itself

Keep your data safe, secure and protected when you do not get to be about hard work. Spend a little time and money all set up properly before you leave, and you will have almost nothing to do extra day to day. automatically start backups and only take a few minutes if you do it regularly. Stay safe on dubious Wi-Fi connections takes two clicks, and the creation of strong passwords is even easier. Encryption takes care of itself as soon as you set it up.

And do everything that's better than having your identity stolen, hacked your bank accounts and watch each photo you off disappear while traveling the back of a tuk-tuk have taken.

Dave runs too many adapters, a website dedicated to travelers Technology. An outsider, as long as he can remember, he was in IT for 15 years. Now based out of a backpack long Dave writes about traveling and Tech from anywhere with halfway decent internet and great views. You can also use it on the life of a find in long-term travelers conversation What to do Dave?

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