Gandalf wasn’t just a wizard, he was a very wise man!
It’s been quite a while since I posted anything for the tech side of Travels and Tech but some of my planning for our upcoming trip has prompted me to post about a subject that’s always been important to travelers – security. My main concern this time around has been the need to protect us from security risks when using shared and public WiFi networks, such as those in hotels and airports…but I’ll get to that particular issue later.
There are lots of ways a trip can be ruined by someone with thieving intent, and in these days of improving technology it’s almost a full time job for the travel planner to keep one step ahead of the crooks out there. The nature of travel is such that we are outside our normal daily routine and we’re usually doing some things that place us at more risk than we face at home.
The obvious situation here is that when travelling overseas most of us carry a LOT more cash than we do at home. And the obvious solution that we’ve all been using for donkeys years is to keep our extra dosh in a money belt or neck pouch or some other safe stash on our person, away from prying hands.
Keep Those Cards Safe
As for access to additional funds, when my parents first traveled overseas they really only had a couple of choices – travelers cheques and wire services. I can remember them sitting down and pre-signing their names over and over in their stash of travelers cheques. The cheques served well in the day ( and are still available today if needed) but the plethora of ATMs all over the world in an interconnected bank network means that these days we really just need a card or two in our wallet ( or better yet, in our money belt!) to grab some extra cash on the go.
However…. the rise of the RFID chipped credit card brought with it a new security risk. RFID stands for Radio Frequency IDentification, a technology that uses tiny computer chips smaller than a grain of sand to track items at a distance. These chips are wonderful when we’re in a hurry at the checkout and simply need to tap our card on the EFTPOS terminal to buy. However they’ve also been wonderful for thieves with card skimming devices. Early in the 2010s we started seeing many reports of how easy it was for electronic pickpockets to help themselves to your credit card details without laying their hands on your wallet. ( If you can ‘t see the video below because you’re reading those post via email, click this link. Or click on the Post title above to see it on the Travels and Tech website)
Electronic Pickpocketing Video
As a response to this risk the travel gadget people starting coming out with a huge range of RFID protection wallets and bags. Most “travel” bags these days come with at least one pocket that is designed to protect your credit cards from the scammers.
For our 2012 trip to the USA we picked up a few foil lined sleeves on Ebay for just a few dollars and they’ve served us well ever since. Or if you’re REALLY cheap you can even manufacture your own from aluminium foil.
Fortunately, credit card manufacturers have been doing their best in recent years to limit this risk. Although some contactless cards can be read from as far as a few feet away, refinements to the RFID technology employed in newer cards limits their transmission range to a much smaller distance.
Also, although RFID-enabled cards may have originally transmitted their information in plain text, newer contactless cards are adding encryption to the data streams and thus cannot be read directly by ordinary card readers.
However, I still feel that little bit safer with my cards tucked inside their little sleeves!
Free WiFi networks Are A Cyber Criminals’ Best Friend!
Now to get back to the item I mentioned at the beginning of this post. There’s not many of us these days that travel without their smartphone or a tablet or a laptop; and most of us appreciate the freedom to log into the free WiFi hotspot at the airport or our hotel’s WiFi to post on Facebook, or email our family or even to do a little online banking.
The trouble is, that freedom also comes with a significantly increasing risk. I won’t go into all the different ways that your data ( and passwords!) can be stolen when you use shared Wifi but if you’re really interested I suggest you look up MITM (Man in the Middle) Attacks, Rogue WiFi Networks and Packet Sniffers… amongst others….
You may feel safe because the hotel has given you a password to access their WiFi. but those are only slightly more secure because many hotels aren’t as vigilant as they should be about password security. The password is often shared with everyone who stays there, and is rarely changed so acquiring it is a trivial matter. It’s also possible that the guest downstairs, who was just handed the password at checkin, is a hacker! If he’s using the same network, and he has some easy to get software, your data is at risk.
Here’s a short video that demonstrates some of the risks.
So What Can You Do??
There are lots of ways that you can help to boost your security,
1. Never assume a listed WiFi link is legitimate! Yes, it may say ‘Starbucks Coffee Wireless’ but it could very easily be fake. Question everything. Look at the website – check it for continuity, misspellings, etc…! Don’t connect without confirming with the business that you’re using the right network, as the guy sitting beside you may be a crook who has setup a rogue network just to catch the unwary. ( and he may NOT be wearing the giveaway balaclava! )
2. Check the address of the website you’re browsing and make sure it’s using the HTTPS protocol rather than just HTTP. If it’s using HTTPS you’ll see a little “lock” symbol at the top of the page, usually within the address bar. If it doesn’t then you can sometimes force it to HTTPS by retyping the website address with https:// at the beginning and reloading the page.
You REALLY should be using a VPN!!
A VPN secures your computer’s internet connection to guarantee that all of the data you’re sending and receiving is encrypted and secured from prying eyes. If you are connected to a good VPN service you can feel free to access any website you like…at least until the hackers come up with something new! Most of the best VPNs have Apps so you can also browse safely using your phone or tablet while travelling.
Oh and I should mention a side benefit of using a VPN, it unlocks access to location-blocked websites. When you connect you choose one of the servers ( located worldwide) for your connection. This means that if you’re at home in Australia and want to view a website in the USA that has location blocked content ( e.g. the American Netflix site ) , with your VPN you can disguise yourself as an American. Comes in handy sometimes!
And to finish up, and to reinforce the messages, and because he’s amazing…. here’s Gandalf again… ( click for link)
