Who remembers when you lost a phone and the worst aspect was your photos were gone, as this is before the Cloud backups existed. Or you had to ask everyone to send you their phone number again.
Nowadays mobile phones are more like pocket laptops, with access to absolutely everything. This means checking your digital security before you go travelling is more crucial than ever. I’ve therefore written up some tips below which I hope you will find useful.
Update Your Phone & Laptop Before Departure
This probably sounds like a minor consideration, but software updates are critical because they can fix security vulnerabilities and stop attacks on a network or apps that have malware or issues. But when you go abroad, you might not have access to WiFi, it commonly won’t update until back on WiFi, therefore it’s worth doing at home before you fly away.
These updates might be quite large and hotel WiFi is absolutely naff. You don’t want to rinse your roaming data either. We’re so reliant on our phones nowadays for anything and everything we need, so this is an integral one.
The obvious ones would be checking your laptop for updates, updating iOS and Android on your phone and then your web browsers. But you should also update your apps, from banking and airline ones to VPN and authenticators, to ensure they work perfectly abroad.
Consider A VPN
I feel like Gen Z and Gen Alpha have grown up with VPNs in a way that older generations are still largely learning about them. They create an encrypted connection, helping to prevent people either operating or observing the local network.
So imagine you’re on the hotel WiFi or the airport WiFi, these are shared ones with hundreds of others accessing it, which brings a number of security vulnerabilities. Seriously, I’ve heard of so many people being hacked while using a cafe WiFi.
The last thing you want is someone gaining access to your passwords and logging in to your bank account. You can add a dedicated IP to your Private Internet Access plan to ensure you’re secure.
Set Up Two-Factor Authentication
I have had my phone stolen while abroad, multiple times for that matter. This was before I had 2FA in place, albeit they probably wouldn’t have guessed my passcode to even get on the phone.
But a 2FA gives you an extra layer of protection beyond a password or passcode, as if they do manage to access anything you have or your password details get leaked, a code would still be sent to your phone and they couldn’t access unless the code is provided.
This double layer of security is a necessity nowadays, in fact many apps and sites require it. I couldn’t even run Facebook ads without having 2FA in place.
It doesn’t have to be a code sent to your phone, you could setup the authenticator app, or you could use your fingerprint or facial scan.
Check Your Passport Scans and Backups
Time for a quick story. I was in Miami and I lost my passport, well actually someone pickpocketed from me on a night out on the last evening before I flew home. I went to the airport with nothing but a picture of my passport, surprisingly Miami airport security allowed me to fly to New York with just that.
Once in New York, I showed them the picture and explained the story, they kept saying I wouldn’t board the flight, when eventually they allowed it. I flew from Miami to New York and then to London Heathrow with nothing more than a scanned picture of my passport!
So anyway, it’s worth having a scan of your passport, as well as a photo on your phone so it can be accessed offline, plus storing one on an encrypted cloud storage is definitely worth it. But just remember, if your phone is stolen and accessing your cloud storage requires 2 step from your phone, you’re in trouble, so something that can easily be accessed like a JPG or PDF is ideal.
Create A Recovery Plan For Lost Items
This might sound like overkill, but it’s actually a really great idea, especially if you’re going on a longer travelling trip. Seriously, for those who are going for more than a month, this is a necessity.
Ok, so start to consider whether you can login without your phone? If not, maybe you should setup alternative 2FA options as well, like a passcode. You may also want to ensure you have online banking so you can easily chat to a chatbot if you need to arrange anything quickly.
What about access to key details like your bookings or tickets, are they backed up somewhere or just on your phone? You could setup a folder on the cloud so you can access it from any device.
You could also setup Find My or Find Hub (depending on your device) to locate your phone when it’s gone missing. These really do come in handy, especially if you’ve had a drink or two.
Don’t Use A Four Digit Pin
So a four digit pin has 10,000 possible combinations, I get it, that sounds like a crazy amount, but up it to 6 digits and there are 1 million possible combinations, a 100x increase. If you make it 8 digits then it’s 10 million possibilities, you get the point.
For me, I use a 6 digit pin, but I would highlight that if you can memorise a random one, that’s best. So many people go straight to birthdays of loved ones, or their own, which is so easy to predict. A study of 1,200 smartphone pins showed that when people moved from 4 to 6 digit pins, they actually were easier to predict as they went for something overly obvious like their date of birth.
You should also avoid using repeated numbers, e.g. 111156. Plus, it goes without saying, but try to avoid watching eyes when entering your code. Pickpockets will sometimes watch a pin being typed before trying to steal a phone.
