How to protect your online accounts as a Digital Nomad

The internet is the best thing in the world, at least according to most digital nomads. It gives them a chance to work remotely from all areas of the globe, while visiting all of their dream destinations.

With a plethora of software that is specifically built to ease off the workload between remote team members, everything works like a charm, most of the time. However, for all the good days, there are those when everything can take a catastrophic turn for the worst. We are talking about hacker breaches, which can jeopardize your entire future.

Because it is better to be safe than sorry, we came up with this article, detailing all the steps you must take in order to keep your private data safe and secure from any unwanted access. Do not neglect this important step, or you will put yourself and your business in jeopardy!

Always turn on the VPN protection

In case you didn’t know by now, VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network”, and it has become an absolutely vital piece of software for remote workers. It seems that now more than ever before, your personal data, including passwords, log-ins and IP address, are in danger of being stolen by third parties. A good VPN can cost a lot of money, but there are also some options which aren’t that expensive, especially considering how important it can be.

As far as the experts claim, maintaining internet anonymity is practically impossible nowadays, but by having a Virtual Private Network set, you will give yourself the best chance to avoid cyber-attacks.

Don’t skip the two-step authentication either

Yes, we are well aware that a two-step authentication can be tedious, but it gives you another layer of protection, and that is priceless. If you’ve never encountered a two-step verification process before, we’ll quickly go over it right now. After you enter your password and log in, another verification step is added before you can access your data.

It usually consists of a one-time code that you receive via text message or through email. This code is only good for a brief period of time, and it changes after every log in. Famous websites such as PayPal or Dropbox have been using this functionality for quite some time, and it’s been proven to provide great protection to sensitive data.

Be careful where you charge your devices

Stealing data through a charging port seems like an idea from a science fiction movie, but unfortunately, it can happen to you too, if you’re not careful. In the tech community, this crime is known under the name juice jacking. Because of that, it’s always better to bring a charger with you and avoid public charging ports as much as possible. Furthermore, power banks are dirty cheap nowadays anyway, so if you find yourself in frequent need of a charger, you might want to consider acquiring one.

Only use the well-known apps

Another one of the common ways for data theft is through shady apps. Even if your data is well encrypted, if you install one of these apps on your phone, you’re practically asking for trouble. These apps require all sorts of permissions in order to work, and most people agree to them automatically, without even reading the terms and conditions. However, after you click accept, it’s usually too late, as all the important data is already drained. So, if your employers are asking you to use some of the apps that aren’t well-known, be very careful with what you’re doing.

If you have to use a public computer, always go incognito

Unfortunately, choosing incognito mode will not always be enough, but it provides the most basic level of protection for your data. In the famous incognito mode, browsers do not remember passwords nor history, so you’ll at least avoid leaving your data for others to access. Naturally, we advise you to always use your computer when logging into any websites containing sensitive data, just to remain on the safe side. Why risk it, if you don’t have to?