Kaspersky Lab: quick tips for a safe and secure holiday

Summer is in full bloom and that means many people will be heading off for some well-deserved vacations. However, just like you should check out any health advice before traveling to another part of the world, so you should take care to ‘vaccinate’ yourself against any increased risk of cyber-infection on your travels. Don’t forget that the risk of cybercrime can be much higher when traveling. 

Keeping this in mind, here is Kaspersky Lab’s quick guide to an (electronically) secure holiday. 

Booking your holiday:

When you’ve found a reliable site to book your accommodation, don’t forget to be careful about paying online. Before making a transaction, check your device and all the software to make sure it is completely up-to-date with the latest security features. A service to pass money must be checked for security reasons and a solid anti-virus programme with a built-in safe money protection feature must be always run. Kaspersky Lab’s Safe Money technology checks that the website is secure, ensures users are not being tricked by a fake or fraudulent website and then opens the site in a special, protected mode. 

Devices:

Of course most people like to take a mobile or computer away with them. But if your device has valuable data on it – whether it’s a phone, tablet or laptop – travelers must make sure they have a back-up waiting for them back home. That way, if a machine is stolen, broken or lost all the data will be safe on an external hard drive. 

When using mobile devices on vacation, users should install some sort of anti-theft protection, or at least be sure they know how to use the in-built anti-theft features on their device. For example the Anti-Theft protection feature in Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device can hide details about contacts, calls, text messages and logs if the phone is lost or stolen, and makes it possible to block the device, delete data, find its location and even to take photo of anyone who tries to use it. 

While on holiday:

While being on a family holiday, it’s important to have a few contact numbers in case of any emergencies. This becomes particularly important when travelling abroad when Internet connections may not always be available. Therefore all numbers should be kept on the phone, on a laptop and in writing somewhere. Also when traveling out of the country, make sure you know how to make calls to your home country from your destination. 

Wi-Fi Hotspots:

It is important to take particular care at hotspots, i.e. when using free Wi-Fi in hotels or coffee shops, for there are dangers lurking here. If possible, it is better to avoid online banking, shopping or making any other sensitive transactions from hotspots unless a secure VPN connection is secured. For those who know in advance that they will be using hotspots, the advice is to keep safe by installing a VPN app or software. 

Credit Cards:

Bring more than one credit or debit card with you, so you have a Plan B if your card is lost or cancelled. If you travel with large amounts of cash, keep it in the hotel safe (along with your passport unless you need to carry it with you). 

It is essential to take all the suggested steps to ensure that your holiday is well protected against any cybercrime threats or scams that might disturb your fun.