Those of us old enough to remember Travel before the age of smartphones And mobile internet knows that we are doing pretty well these days. You can find the best flights with comparison sites, choose from hundreds of hotels on a single booking site, sent tickets to your phone instead of picking them up personally, checking in online, ordering a ride and you are eliminated.
All this of course comes with disadvantages and considerations.
The biggest worries of most people are “being hacked”, which, if you go on it, really mean “be robbed in ways that I don’t fully understand.” But that is one of those risks that, although very real, will probably not happen if you take the usual precautions.
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At a time when personal information is worth more than oil, bad actors are often interested in getting in their hands Your personal information As much as your money. And a “bad actor” doesn’t have to be a man with his hood up, bent over a laptop in the back of a coffee shop.
In 2024, for example, classaction.org reported on suspicions From large cruise companies that illegally share consumer data with Facebook. Cruise Lines Royalcaribbean.com, celebritycruises.com, Princess.com and Hollandamerica.com are suspected of collecting personal information via the secretly “Meta Tracking Pixel” and send it to Facebook without users’ permission.
Booking.com, a site that most of us used at some point, has also had a good part of the problems. The website has fought against waves of hacking attacks aimed at cheating its customers; It is confronted with accusations of not doing enough to protect its customers and has even been fined disclose A data breach on time.
Data collected from these types of incidents are often circulating online, are added to what was before, just waiting for someone or a company to use it.
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What you can do to protect your personal information
Avoiding cruise companies and booking locations at all is hardly a practical solution when you need to book a cruise or accommodation. Here are some things you can do to dramatically reduce the risk when booking flights, cruises, vehicles and accommodation.
1. Investing in Services Services Personal Data: Although no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a deletion service is great if you want to constantly follow and automate the process of deleting your information from hundreds of sites for a longer period. View my best choices for data removal services here.
2. Use caution for personal security: Do not register with something using your social media accounts. Instead, report with your e -mail and make sure you use an e -mail address that you have reserved, only for situations like this.
3. Do your homework online: Perform an online search for the booking website, Cruise Line or Travel Agency in question, keeping an eye on for recent reports of scams or other issues.
4. Carefully check the reputation of the company: Account Classaction.orgthe Better Business Bureau And Trustpilot specifically. This helps you to gain extensive insights into the track record of a company, customer experiences and potential problems.
5. Verify the legitimacy of communication: When you receive a call, e -mail or SMS from a booking service, you confirm that they are real by first checking your account directly and then contacting the company through official, publicly stated channels (no social media).
More ways to protect yourself online while traveling: here is how you can stay safe
Here are some of the “usual precautions” that can protect you against “hacked” while traveling.
1. Attend all your apps and operating systems before you leave: All those security patches are much more important while traveling. You want that Download and Install all current updates At least 24-48 hours before your departure, so that you have the latest security protection and you give yourself time to solve possible updates-related problems that can occur.
2. Lock everything: Use strong, unique passwords and reliable Password manager To keep up with them.
3. Switch on two -factor authentication Where available: Prioritize the use of authenticator apps above SMS-based codes. This offers a safer second verification layer, because authenticator apps are less vulnerable to SIMWITEL attacks and intercepts compared to SMS-based authentication. To elect Renowned Authenticator -AppsThose time -based one -time passwords generate that often change and are directly bound to your device.
4. Keep location services switched off: NFC, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi must also be eliminated while you are not using them. This ensures that your battery lasts longer as an additional part.
5. Go dark: Don’t share news of your trip publicly until you are back. Avoid posting your holiday on social media or keeping a blog about your adventures, because this information can be used by criminals to merge a snapshot of your life.
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6. Limit use of social media: Scammers and hackers often use social media to collect personal information and target travelers. To stay safe, avoid sharing travel details in public and use a privacy-focused message app such as Signal To keep in touch with family and friends.
7. Use privacy-oriented browsers: You must consider using browsers as Brave or firefox With privacy extensions. Switching on “not following” settings and using private/incognito mode can offer extra layer of digital protection.
8. Switch off automatic Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections: Switch off settings that automatically connect to networks and select and verify networks manually before connecting. This prevents your device from unintentionally adding to potentially uncovered networks.
9. Use encrypted messages and e -mail: Protect your private communication by using services that offer end-to-end coding for both to inform And E -Mail. These platforms ensure that your data remains safe against unauthorized access, with functions such as coding for non-users, multifactor authentication and tracking protection. View my review of the best secure and private -mail services here.
10. Travel with minimal digital equipment: Consider bringing a “only travel” telephone or laptop with minimal personal data.
11. Be careful with public charging stations: Avoid use Public USB charging ports That could be possible Combine your device. Wear one instead portable phone charger With you.
12. Monitor your accounts: Set transaction warnings to financial accounts and use credit cards with strong fraud protection. Check your accounts regularly while traveling to quickly detect suspicious activities.
13. Bring your own internet access: Find one Local or International SimA mobile hotspot and a familiar VPN -Service (Virtual Private Network) Before that time you can only use public WiFi. The use of a VPN can improve your privacy by coding your internet traffic, making it more difficult for hackers and third parties to intercept your data, especially on public Wi-Fi. A VPN masks your IP address and helps to cover up your location and online activity. Although VPNs do not immediately prevent phishing -e -mails, they reduce the exposure of your surfing habits to trackers that can use this data malignant. With a VPN you can access your E -mail accounts everywhere, even in areas with restrictive internet policy. For the best VPN software, see my expert assessment of the best VPNs for private leaves Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
A man who holds his passport (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutsson)
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There is a lot of good advice when it comes to avoiding public Wi -Fi And protect your documents while traveling. But to stay really safe, it is important to start thinking about your data privacy and data security before even booking your journey. It doesn’t take much if everything is said and done, but it can make a huge difference for how you remember your journey for years.
When is the last time that technology has made your journey more stressful instead of easier? What happened? Let us know by writing us Cyberguy.com/contact.
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