How many international travelers are practicing unsafe online behavior?

When traveling abroad, a little effort can go a long way toward keeping your devices and data safe. Travel and cybersecurity experts recommend people follow some simple steps and best practices when staying in another country. But how many people actually follow this advice?

There are three tips that more than half of international travelers follow most or every time they go abroad. About half (52%) of people notify their financial institutions of travel plans and enable Find My Device features for the smart devices they travel with, and 51% make sure their devices are fully up-to-date before they set off .a

However, some expert advice has been largely ignored. For example, less than a third of international travelers use a VPN when accessing the Internet while traveling, and only 29% take the time to research the internet privacy laws of the country they will be traveling to.Â

But what do the experts say is different for traveling abroad? John Hering, Senior Manager of Government Affairs, Cybersecurity Policy and Defense at Microsoft, offered his thoughts on what travelers should know before they leave home.Â

According to Hering, the real danger lies in the information you don’t have about safety in a new country

“Whenever you’re traveling somewhere new, you should accept that you have less information about the relative safety of the ICT environment and practice good cyber hygiene,” he said. “This means making sure your software is up to date with any necessary patches before you travel, enabling multi-factor authentication on all your accounts, and using things like anti-malware services and VPNs. Travelers should also think about which connected devices they choose to take with them on a trip to limit their risk – this includes things like laptops and phones, but also other networked consumer products like tablets, smartwatches and even handheld gaming systems.”

More tips for international travelers

International travel presents unique risks, but there are many ways to stay safe abroad. Some other tips for doing this include: Â

• Decide which VPN is right for you. Subscribe to one of the best VPNs for travel as a way to protect your data while on public Wi-Fi networks without compromising your connection speed.
• Change passwords when you return. Identity thieves don’t always strike right away. Changing passwords once you’re home can prevent any compromised accounts and make any password theft moot. Use a secure password manager to make it an easy transition and keep all your accounts secure.Â
• Understand the risks of juicing. Read up on ways you can prevent yourself from dehydration and learn what to do if you suspect you’re a victim.

This story is produced by All About Cookies and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.