REPOST: Travel safely with your tech: How to prevent theft, loss and snooping on the road

Gadgets are must-have items on the travel circuit. But how can we make sure that the technology we bring along on the journey is secure? Find out in the article below:

Image Source: pcworld.com

When you travel, a whole fleet of electronics come with you. Smartphone and laptop are a given, but there’s a good chance you’re also toting a tablet, and maybe a cellular hotspot or dedicated GPS.

All of them are juicy targets for bad guys. Here’s how to make sure your devices’ travels are just as safe as your own.

Protect yourself on public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi hotspots are essential. They’re like an oasis in the disconnected desert when you run into their blessed signal in coffee shops, airports, or even public parks. But wide-open Wi-Fi hotspots can also be dangerous.
Using a VPN on public Wi-Fi hotspots will prevent snooping. If you’re connected to a malicious WI-Fi hotspot that attempts to funnel you to fake phishing sites, the VPN will bypass all that junk and allow you to browse normally.

Businesses often require their employees to use a VPN while traveling, but everyday consumers can pay a few bucks a month for a service and get the same security benefits. Be sure to choose and set up a VPN ahead of time.

Lock everything tight

Many people like setting their laptops and PCs to log them in automatically, bypassing the need to input a password. That’s something you’ll want to change when you hit the road.

Set a decent password—not “password” or “letmein”—on your laptop and have it prompt you at boot. (Here’s how to change your password in Windows 7 and Windows 8.) Ensure your laptop is set to ask for the password when it wakes from sleep or hibernate mode, too—this will thwart opportunistic snoopers and also make more trouble for thieves.

The same goes for smartphones and tablets. Be sure to set up a PIN, pattern lock, or some authentication you have to enter when you turn on your device or awaken it. (Here’s how to do so on Android and iOS.)

Track your tech

Be sure to set up device-tracking, remote-locking, and remote-wiping features ahead of time, too. This is easy on most smartphones and tablets. Android phones and tablets offer integrated tracking via Google’s Android Device Manager, and Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and Macs offer integrated tracking via Find My iPhone in iCloud. Windows Phones offer integrated tracking, too.

Enable this feature on your mobile devices ahead of time. Also take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the web-based interface for tracking your devices. Features like remote wiping may not be enabled by default, so you’ll want to check those as well.

Tracking is tougher with computers. Windows laptops, Chromebooks, and Linux PCs don’t come with anything built-in. You may want to install PC-tracking software like Prey Anti-theft, which has a free version and is available for Windows, Linux, and Macs.

Windows tablets also lack built-in tracking like Android tablets and iPads have, so you’ll need to install a third-party utility on these devices as well.

Encrypt all your data

Don’t be the next person who misplaces a laptop with customer credit card numbers or personal employee information on it. Encryption ensures someone can’t go straight to your storage to snoop through your stuff if your device is stolen. Android, iOS, Chrome OS, Linux, and Mac OS X all offer integrated full-disk encryption features that are easy to enable or enabled by default.

Windows is still the laggard here. If you have a modern laptop or tablet that came with Windows 8.1, its data may be encrypted with “device encryption.” But this works only if you’ve logged in with a Microsoft account—not a local user account.

If you have an older device, you’ll need to upgrade to the Professional edition of Windows 7 or 8 and enable BitLocker encryption. You could also use a third-party full-disk encryption solution, such as TrueCrypt. Even in its defunct state, some security experts consider TrueCrypt 7.1a safe to use, and other encryption tools are available as well.

Have backups in another location

Proper backups are crucial, although this tip may be overlooked and underappreciated. Backups can help you recover your precious data if your device is stolen, broken, or otherwise lost while you’re travelling.

You could go to the cloud with an online backup service like CrashPlan or BackBlaze. You could also back up to an external hard drive. For maximum security, store backups in both places and have backups in multiple locations. PCWorld’s guide to backing up your PC for free can help if you need it.

But, whatever you do, don’t just back up to an external hard drive that you bring with you and keep in your laptop bag. If you lose that laptop bag, you’ll lose all your backups. Take it from someone who once lost all his stuff because he didn’t do proper backups: You really need to get serious about backups before disaster strikes!

Keep an eye on your stuff

Let’s rewind a bit. Staying secure on the road isn’t just about software features—you also need to stay alert and keep an eye on your stuff in the physical world.

Keep your smartphone in your front pocket, not your back one. Don’t just leave your smartphone sitting on a table in a coffee shop or restaurant when you go to the restroom, either. Yes, I’ve seen people do this, and I’m always amazed their phones are still there when they return.

The same goes for laptops. Please don’t leave them sitting on a table in a coffee shop—logged in—while you step away. I’ve seen this, too. It boggles the mind! Keep either your eyes or a hand on your devices at all times.

Keep that laptop in a bag when you’re not actively using it to make it less of a target. If you’re staying in a hotel, whatever devices you aren’t carrying with you should be locked in your room’s safe, assuming your hotel offers one. If nothing else, tuck expensive devices into a bag or suitcase.

Stay smart, stay safe

Mobile devices are incredibly easy to steal. Don’t add to the statistics: Use common sense and be careful. I’ve traveled all over North America and Europe and haven’t lost any devices or had trouble with compromised public Wi-Fi networks. But I’ve never left my smartphone and laptop sitting on a coffee shop table when I go to the restroom, either.

Hi! I am Louis Habash, a travel writer. Visit my blog for more interesting articles related to traveling.

REPOST: Birmingham in Rough Guide ‘top 10 cities in the world’

This article from BBC unveils new travel attractions in 2015.

The Bull Ring shopping centre houses more than 160 outlets | Image Source: bbc.com

Birmingham has been named as one of the top 10 cities in the world by travel handbook company Rough Guide.

It joins Johannesburg, New Orleans and Wellington on the list, described by the firm as “a comprehensive and reliable rundown of the best places to travel in 2015”.

Birmingham was described as having cultural variety, excellent shopping and a buzzing live music scene.

It is the only UK location on the list, which does not rank the chosen cities.

According to the guide, the conurbation has “long outgrown the squalor and misery of its boom years”, and is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Britain.

The glowing recommendation, though, is tempered by “there’s no pretending that Birmingham is packed with interesting sights – it isn’t – but, along with its first-rate restaurant scene and nightlife, it’s well worth at least a couple of days.”

Defining Birmingham

1. Culture

The Library of Birmingham, which cost £189m to build and houses a collection of one million books, opened in 2013. The Ikon gallery features artists from around the world with work including sound, film, mixed media, photography, painting and sculpture. Symphony Hall Birmingham entertains about half a million concert-goers every year and provides education programmes. (Source: Visit Birmingham)

2. Famous faces
Youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, goes to school in Birmingham. Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath hails from the city, as did the inventor of custard powder, Alfred Bird – whose legacy can be seen in arts centre the Custard Factory. And unlikely as it seems, the region recently staked a claim on Charlie Chaplin, who some believe was born in a caravan in Smethwick.

3. The accent
The Birmingham accent frequently comes bottom in polls of people’s favourites. It is rarely heard on television or in films unless they are comedies – until BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders came along.

4. Cultural melting-pot
A city of world cultures, the 2011 census found 42% of Birmingham’s population was non-white and 94 languages were in use, including Creole, Luganda and Yiddish.

5. Industry
“Brummies” turned their hands to every kind of manufacturing, gaining the epithet “the city of 1001 trades”. In the 18th Century, men at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution – including James Watt, Matthew Boulton, and Joseph Priestley – formed the Lunar Society, where they shared scientific and industrial ideas. They conceived the world’s first purpose-built factory, invented gas lighting and pioneered both oxygen distillation and the mass production of the steam engine. (Source: Rough Guide)

The Library of Birmingham was shortlisted for the Riba architectural prize | Image Source: bbc..com

The BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders is set in Birmingham – but is not made in the city | Image Source: bbc.com

Activist Malala Yousafzai, rock star Ozzy Osbourne and father of custard Alfred Bird are some of Birmingham’s leading lights | Image Source: bbc.com

The guide’s authors said New Street Station’s renovation, due to finish next year, was among the things which made 2015 the “ideal time to visit” Birmingham.

They also said the city has “often missed out on its share of the limelight” due to competition from “cultural powerhouses” London and Liverpool.

But “creative hotspots” like Digbeth, site of the former Bird’s Custard Factory, were emerging to redress the balance, they added.

Other notable spots highlighted by Rough Guide included the Gas Street Basin, described as “the prettiest part of the city’s serpentine canal system”.

Gas Street Basin was described as the “prettiest part” of Birmingham’s canal system | Image Source: bbc.com

Hi! I’m Louis Habash. As a travel writer, I always love to record the thrills and spills of my adventures. Follow me on Twitter to get the latest updates on my journey.