How to Keep Your Data Safe When Traveling Abroad
Traveling with technology is always a little daunting, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. Whether it is banning the use of electronic devices such as laptops when flying to certain countries, heightened security screening procedures that require you to remove almost all electronics from your bags, or border patrol agents requiring your personal information to find your phone, taking appropriate measures to protect your personal information. data has never been more important.
Luckily for you, protecting your digital information has never been easier. There are freely available applications that allow you to hide the most important information; privacy-focused operating systems can protect your browsing habits; and temporarily turning off your data is as easy as using a web app.
Use an operating system for the flash drive
Portable operating systems aren’t new, but if you’re security conscious, you’ll be glad you took one with you. A portable operating system means you can leave your main laptop at home with whatever data you want to keep out of prying eyes and turn any computer into your secure workstation without leaving a trace.
You can insert any number of portable operating systems onto a flash drive, with some taking as little as 100MB of space, although traveling abroad may require a more privacy-focused OS. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is known to be using Tails , a portable operating system built for privacy first. It comes with pre-installed encryption tools like OpenPGP to protect your documents, HTTPS Everywhere to protect your web traffic, and Tor to anonymize your online presence.
While Tails may focus on keeping you anonymous, it’s not infallible. It will not protect you from all threats and provides a list of potential factors that could jeopardize your safety.
Opt out of fingerprint unlock
The convenience of using your fingerprint to unlock your phone is unmatched, but it’s a bad habit if you want to protect your personal information, especially from law enforcement. While the police cannot force you to enter a password or PIN to unlock your phone, regulations of the past few years have forced people under investigation by law enforcement to unlock devices if fingerprint unlock is enabled.
Get (or make) a recording phone
Your phone contains as much, if not more, personal information than your laptop, so protecting your mobile device should be a top priority. Of course, you can always leave your main phone at home and make your own recording phone . It’s not as hard as you might think to turn an old smartphone into a recording phone that gives you access to the basics while keeping your personal belongings safe from airport security surveillance. Apps like Hushing and Burner let you create temporary phone numbers for calls and text messages, and VPN apps like Hideman and CyberGhost can be installed on your iOS and Android phones to protect your browsing data while using unfamiliar networks.
Protect your passwords
Using a password manager is a great way to keep your data secure, but it’s also a treasure trove of personal information. You can use password management apps like KeepassX and 1Password to further protect your data. Agile Bits, the creator of 1Password, recently added a Travel Abroad feature (cloud subscribers only) that removes all non-essential information stored internally from your devices. You can mark which pieces of information you want to keep on your device, and the rest will be erased and stored in your cloud database.