How to Travel with Your Tech
Introduction:
We have grown very dependent on our technology devices, so it’s natural to want to take them with us when we travel. However, traveling with phones, tablets, or laptop computers exposes them to more threats than normal including liquid and physical damage, theft, loss, and cyberattacks. Planes, cars, trains, and hotels are technology-hostile environments. The following recommendations are gleaned from millions of miles of business and personal travel as well as customer experiences.
Liquid Damage:
Don’t put a water bottle in the same backpack or carryon as your phone, tablet, or laptop computer. Seems obvious, but we see the consequences all the time. Water bottles are prone to leaking anyway, but on planes, the pressure changes significantly increase the probabilities.
Don’t have drinks and your devices on airplane seatback trays at the same time. Turbulence or someone accidentally bumping into the seat or tray can cause liquid damage.
Liquid spills cause costly damage to devices or outright kill them almost immediately due to short circuits or, after a time delay, due to corrosion.
If your device was exposed to liquid and was turned off, do not turn it on. If it was on, turn it off immediately, and don’t turn it back on. You can wipe off the exterior, but don’t try to dry it out with rice or a hairdryer. Do not try to test it. Bring it in as soon as possible for a professional to try to save it.
Physical Damage:
Checked luggage is exposed to extreme handling shocks, cold, heat, and rain. Carryon luggage falls out of overhead bins all the time. Devices get cooked in very hot cars or used outside in bright sunlight. When you’re travelling, before you put valuable technology anywhere, think about its safety, and don’t expose it to unnecessary risk.
Theft:
Leaving your valuable devices unattended in airports, cars, or hotel rooms or putting them in checked luggage is an invitation to thieves. Keep them with you at all times, and be vigilant.
Loss:
Travelers absent-mindedly leave valuable devices in airplanes, trains, taxis, rental cars, buses, hotels, and restaurants. Sometimes, with significant effort and/or expense, they get them back, and sometimes they don’t. If you’re travelling for business, your schedule may be hectic and your surroundings unfamiliar. It’s pretty easy to get distracted. If you’re travelling for pleasure, the whole point is to relax in unfamiliar surroundings. It’s pretty easy to lose focus. When you’re travelling, make a special effort to keep track of your technology.
Cyberattacks:
Using unfamiliar networks is an unfortunate fact of life for travelers. Most public networks are not very secure. The probability of exposure to cybersecurity threats is much higher when travelling. To avoid infections and attacks, your devices should be protected by a defense-in-depth. Check out our posts about security for more guidance.
Unless you are certain that the network that you’re using is secure, avoid doing anything online that would expose your sensitive information, e.g. banking or credit card transactions.
Security Scanners:
Travelers frequently question the safety of security scanners. Security scanners use very low levels of radiation and/or magnetic fields to detect dangerous objects and are not a significant threat.
Conclusion:
We’re all very dependent on our technology devices, so we want them with us when we travel. Travel exposes them to more threats. So, be careful out there. ClickAway is always happy to help you keep your devices safe.
