If we are on a vacation or going in a business trip, the laptop has become an indispensable accessory when we travel. Even so, it’s difficult to imagine the risks of giving away such a device, and also the serious consequences of losing some precious information. And when hackers are behind these acts, the situation becomes critical.
When we travel, it’s very important to protect your laptop. For example you can purchase some of the anti theft solutions out there. For more security, it’s advised that when you leave your hotel room to place your laptop in a very remote area of the room. Avoid to leave it where everyone can see it, because it can get the attention of someone with bad intentions.
Avoid using the laptop in public spaces because you can become the target of criminals. Only use your laptop in your hotel room or in the house of friends. Also, it’s a good idea when you travel to put carry your laptop in a backpack and not in the laptop bag, to avoid exposure.
Just like the mobile phone, losing a laptop becomes a serious issue when you also lose your precious documents. If an electronic device can be replaced sooner or later, some files can be lost forever. Also, when it comes to personal files, the risk is even greater, considering the possibility that whoever stole them might use them.
So, before going on a trip make a backup of your most important documents. Use a portable hard drive, a flash drive or even a cd or dvd. Keep the backup at your house or give it to someone who can trust.
Regardless of the fact that you login to your accounts from your personal laptop ( connected to a public wireless network ) or if you use another computer, it’s a good idea to ensure that your data are protected. The first thing, and one of the most important one, is creating a strong password, hard to guess by hackers.
Passwords are very important. It is also very important to limit the access to your computer by setting a password in BIOS. This way, the operating system will not boot unless the password was entered correctly.
The first steps you need to take to protect yourself when you go online from your personal laptop are the activation of protection programs. It’s a good idea to ensure that you always have an anti virus solution running, a firewall and a anti spyware application. Also, all these applications require constant updating to increase the protection level. An anti virus that is not up-to-date with the latest virus definitions can be useless.
Besides all these protection measures, what is also very important is your attitude when you use the internet. Avoid to open links and emails from people you don’t know or messages that are in the “Spam” folder. You also have to be very careful about what sites you visit, the advertising on these sites and the data you introduce.
When you connect the a public wireless network you need to be aware of the fact that that network is open for an unlimited number of people. The risks of a public network is that “spys” might also be connected, to be more precise, people that hunt the data from your computer.
So, it is recommended that you don’t access your banking account or personal web sites when you are connected to a wireless network, and also avoid to check your email address. It’s indicted to create a backup email account that you use only when you travel.
When hackers manage to access your email account, the risks are countless. For example they can send emails to the people you know in which they can request money in your name, and of course other things.
I know, I must be paranoid to write all these things, but then again maybe i’m not. These are just some security measures that we all need to take in order to ensure that our most important device is kept safe and our documents are not compromised.
