In today’s digital world, cybercrime is on the rise, and remote workers, especially digital nomads, are prime targets due to their reliance on public networks. As the FBI reports a continued surge in cybercrime, it’s more crucial than ever for digital nomads to prioritize online security and privacy. This guide will help you adopt essential security habits, such as using strong passwords, leveraging cloud services, and protecting your data with a VPN, to stay safe while working remotely.
This is crucially important due to the spike in the frequency of cybercrimes. For example, an FBI cybersecurity report shows an increase of over 300,000 cases related to cybercrime. This is more than it was when compared to the previous year. The report warned of a potential increase in the number of cybercrimes in the coming years.
First, familiarize yourself with cybersecurity information
You probably have read or heard about crime activities happening in cyberspace, such as identity theft, website hacking, phishing, malware, and data breach. It will help if you understand the meaning of these terminologies and know how and why it happens.
Most importantly, broaden your knowledge on cybersecurity topics and be in the know about steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrimes. Perhaps, you will find our blog content helpful as we are dedicated to providing cybersecurity educational materials for our users on how they can stay watchful and maintain online security and privacy.
Avoid using public computers; stick to your own computer
We highly recommend that you only use your computer when working remotely. This will significantly reduce the risk of getting exposed to internet fraudsters. A public computer in the cafes or libraries can easily be infected with keyloggers that can steal sensitive personal information or other vital credentials.
But then what if you find yourself bound to use a public computer? Firstly, ensure that you do not enter sensitive information you know shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. Secondly, carefully examine any suspicious hardware connected to the computer, such as a USB drive.
Furthermore, inspect the computer for possible malicious software that might have been installed. You can view the computer’s Task Manager to see what programs are running. You should know that these are precautionary measures you can take on a public computer. This is not a guaranteed way of evading keyloggers as they can disguise an application to look legitimate.
Always use strong and unique passwords for all your accounts
Of everyone who uses the internet, you, as a digital nomad, need to develop a good password habit. You likely have multiple accounts online with a lot of sensitive data stored on them. Besides that, because you move around with your computer, accessing your accounts often, you risk becoming vulnerable to password theft.
So, creating a really solid and unique password for each of your accounts should do the job for you. Remember that a strong password, by definition, is one that can’t be easily guessed or cracked using a brute force attack.
Additionally, it would be best to always use two-factor authentication (2FA) on all your accounts. This will add an extra layer of security to your accounts.
A strong, unique password should have the following characteristics:
- At least 12 characters long; the longer, the better.
- Use 2-Factor Authentication (2FA)
- It is not based on personal information that can be easily associated with you
- Uses a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Does not contain memorable keyword paths.
Take advantage of cloud services
Many digital nomads have described cloud services as lifesavers. You can use it for storage or secure your file-sharing experience. The critical factor here is choosing a cloud service built with heavy data encryption so you can be rest assured that your files are completely safe. pCloud is a secure and simple cloud storage service for your files.
Cloud storage comes even handier when you have to travel to countries with strict and broad authority to search, confiscate, and break into your devices. In cases like this, you may have limited legal protection for the citizens. And the fact that you have legitimate reasons to want to protect your company’s data or your personal data from inspection makes owning a cloud storage account a good idea. You can simply backup all important files and data on cloud storage. You can then wipe off everything on your personal computer and restore them later when it is safe to do so.
Use a reliable VPN
On top of every other essential online security best practice, you should use a VPN dues to its many benefits. Firstly, it protects you from network surveillance and secures your personal data from the prying eyes of hackers.
Secondly, it keeps you anonymous by hiding your IP address. It becomes difficult for third parties to trace you based on your browsing history or see what you do on the web. Thirdly, it can help you access geo-blocked content that is otherwise inaccessible when you travel out of your home country.
VPNIFY is a reliable VPN provider and a trustworthy companion for your next trip. At VPNIFY, our core value is providing you with the privacy you deserve and a very secure and open internet without borders, throttling, firewalls, blocks, or restrictions. While still keeping you safe from those who want to harm you or steal your data.