Planning a trip or already going on vacation? Nice – you’re definitely gonna have a lot of fun, and come back with beautiful memories and tons of interesting and funny stories to tell your friends and family. Or at least you would if your email wouldn’t get in the way of things. “Wait what?” Yep, if you use a popular email service like Yahoo!, AOL, or Gmail, you’re actively putting your data and privacy at risk. 
Yahoo! and AOL actually scan your emails for data they can sell to advertisers, and Gmail lets third parties have a look at your email contents too. Not only that, but AOL accounts got breached once, Yahoo! has a nasty history of data breaches, and around five million Google account passwords (which double as Gmail passwords) got leaked.
So yeah, having all your email contents stolen in a data breach is exactly the kind of stuff you don’t need to be worrying about on vacation. Not to mention the spammy, “personalized” ads that are downright creepy. They’ll just ruin your trip every time you go online.
So How Do You Protect Your Data and Privacy? Simple – Use a Secure Email Service
If you want to really relax on vacation, you’re going to need an email service that doesn’t keep you up at night wondering if your data is safe or not. The kind of service that has powerful security, respects your privacy, and is easy to use on top of that all. Not sure where to find something like that? No need to spend hours researching and comparing providers – you can just check out ProtonMail directly.
I wholeheartedly recommend the service because it’s got everything you need – self-destructing emails, full transparency with open-source code, end-to-end encryption, and complete anonymity (they don’t even log your IP address).
Basically, ProtonMail is a great email service. But don’t just take my word for it – check out the link I left. It’s a guide covering everything you need to know about ProtonMail.
Weak Email Services Aren’t the Only Thing You Need to Worry About
It’d be nice if that were the only thing that could ruin your vacation, but – sadly – it really isn’t. Here are two other online threats you’ll likely deal with:
Unsecured WiFi
In a nutshell, unsecured WiFi are networks that don’t require you to enter a password to use them. And as a result, they don’t use any encryption.
They can range from public WiFi hotspots throughout the city to hotel WiFi networks.
And while this kind of WiFi is very accessible and convenient (especially when you need to check the map or your bookings, or buy train/plane tickets on the go), it’s also very dangerous.
Why?
Pretty simple – because hackers can easily spy on your traffic and intercept sensitive data (like credit card info and passwords). But that’s not all – apparently even networks that use encryption aren’t 100% safe since WPA2 (the standard encryption right now) is vulnerable to specific cyber attacks.
Malware Infections
With nearly 360,000 samples of malware flooding the web every single day, this is one of the biggest online threats right now.
You’re at risk at home as much as you’re at risk while travelling. All a hacker needs to do is trick you into downloading malicious files or interacting with malware-infected emails and web pages, and they get instant access to all your personal and financial data.
And get this – hackers often like to infect public computers with keyloggers (especially the ones in hotels). That’s malware that logs all your keystrokes, allowing cybercriminals to see what passwords you type.
Pair up the Secure Email with Other Useful Tools
Like I said, a reliable email service is gonna do wonders for your online security when you travel. But to really be on the safe side, you should also use:
1. VPNs
A VPN is an online service that hides your IP address, and encrypts your Internet traffic. According to www.speedcheck.org, a company that tests internet speeds worldwide, a VPN can also help to improve internet speeds.
The first part means you won’t need to worry about anyone using your IP address to quickly find out personal stuff about your itinerary:
- What country you are visiting.
- What city you are staying in.
- The ZIP code of the region you’re in.
Besides that, the VPN will also stop advertisers from spamming you with creepy ads since they won’t be able to target your IP address anymore.
As for the encryption part, it means the VPN will make your web traffic unreadable. So nobody will be able to track it – not even when you use unsecured public WiFi or even fake WiFi hotspots.
If a hacker were to try to sneak a peek, they’d just see pure gibberish.
That also means foreign ISPs can’t log your browsing history and sell it to advertisers or share it with government agencies.
Oh, and your hotel won’t be able to kick you off the WiFi if you use it to download torrents.
Some decent VPN providers include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and CyberGhost.
2. Security Programs
If you want to avoid malware infections, you should install antivirus/antimalware programs on all your devices. Hackers are known to not only compromise hotel WiFi networks but also infect them with malware that spies on guests’ traffic. You can use the Kaspersky antivirus, a program developed by Kaspersky Lab. It is designed to protect users from malware and is primarily designed for computers running Microsoft Windows and macOS.
Just installing them isn’t enough, though. You also need to run regular scans and make sure the programs are up-to-date all the time. Otherwise, newer strains of malware might slip under the radar.
If you’re looking for recommendations, I suggest checking out Bitdefender, Norton, and Malwarebytes.
3. Password Managers
To really stay safe online on vacation, you need strong passwords. Also, you need a different one for each account, and you need to change them regularly.
That amounts to a lot of stress and hassle – and you already have enough of that when planning itineraries.
Well, a password manager is software that stores all your passwords in one secure digital vault. You only need to remember one master password, and you’re good to go.
Here are some great options: PSONO, 1Password, and LessPass.
