How to Keep Your Laptop Safe While Traveling November 7, 2022
Nowadays laptop has become an essential tool for everyone, they contain school life, work projects, and personal data. As an important instrument, it requires special care, even more, when you work as a digital nomad and you find yourself constantly traveling with your machine.
However, a laptop's portability is also a downside as it gives more of a chance of getting seriously damaged, lost, or even stolen. Therefore, it's best to take the proper precautions when you're traveling to make sure your laptop stays safe and sound. If you don´t know how to minimize the chances of anything terrible happening to your laptop., continue reading and discover tips to keep your laptop safe while traveling.
Protect your laptop while traveling #
1. Find a secure laptop bag and keep your eyes wide open #
The rule number one to keep your laptop safe while traveling is to protect it from physical damage. Your digital data is safe as long your laptop is safe, so if your laptop is important to you, a padded bag that keeps your laptop securely in the right place is vital.
You can also read about: 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Working Remotely
A laptop backpack or bag is specifically designed to provide protection and will often come with a range of security features. Some features to look out for are an anti-theft lock, secret pockets, cut-proof material, and locking cables.
Once you own a secure bag, keep it in your visual range at all times. Also, is practical to use a bag that makes it comfortable to carry the laptop everywhere so that you never lose it out of your sight and end up in the wrong hands. Don´t forget to always have the bag hang in your front rather than in your back.
2.Make sure you use strong passwords #
Prepare to avoid unauthorized access to your computer using encrypted data and secure passwords. Relevant information can be taken from you if you are only using “123*” as a security password. Some more tech-savvy criminals can even run programs to try thousands of passwords, so having something unique and complicated is essential.
To keep your laptop safe while traveling, we highly recommend you to uses a mix of uppercase, and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols*. Try to stay away from names and dates and forget about those obvious replacement characters such as P@ssword. It’s not new, it’s not clever.
And if you are bad at remembering passwords, HelpYouFind.Me will have your back, we understand is not easy to keep all your passwords in mind, and for that reason, our platform is also being designed to store your passwords in an end-to-end encrypted way and have access to it with your own keys whenever you want. Learn more about it here!
3.Use antivirus and VPN #
We can imagine how often you connect your laptop to different Wi-Fi networks when traveling, so a quick question for you: are you already using a Virtual Private Network (VPN)? If not, is time to consider it. This service protects your Internet connection by encrypting all the data you send and receive online.
Also, keep in mind that using unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks can lead to security breaches. So is crucial to maintain your antivirus software updated and running when you use the hotel or airport Wi-Fi.
Keep in mind that traveling means using new networks that you haven’t before and this brings with it certain risks. Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to attacks, having antivirus and even using a VPN can help eliminate a lot of the risks attached to public networks.
4. Record your laptop details #
Another essential tip to keep your laptop safe while traveling is to take note of any registration or serial numbers when you first buy it. Having the laptop manufacturer, model number, name, and serial number will help you when you have to report a theft.
You might want to read: 5 Tips to Become a Successful Digital Nomad in 2023
Also, it is a very good idea to take photos when you first get your laptop as this will prove the date of purchase should you have to make an insurance claim. Just don’t store those photos on the same laptop.
5.Backup your data #
The information stored in your laptop can be more valuable than the laptop itself. In order to keep your data safe while traveling, consider backing it up on a hard drive for large projects or in cloud storage online for documents.
In this essential point, HelpYouFind.Me fits well to that need since it is a digital storage device. Here you will be able to save all relevant information, from personal data to paperwork. Having that sensitive information in a fully end-to-end encrypted service is a life-saving deal.
HelpYouFind.Me will not only be useful for your data but to keep a better track of you and your travels. One great feature is to give access to your loved ones under customizable access rules for emergency purpose use. [Discover more useful safety features here!] (https://helpyoufind.me/#features)
Don´t forget that having backed up all of your data, the risk of losing your laptop is the same, but the risk of losing data, work, and memories that can’t be replaced has totally gone.
Keep your laptop safe #
It is best to be prepared for the worst. If you are super worried about it, having everything backed up is the only way to know you won’t lose your data. Many of the methods we’ve mentioned are as designed to put off potential thieves as they are to protect your laptop while traveling. There is always the chance of the worst happening, the key is to be prepared to keep your laptop safe.
Vanessa Martínez