Being a travelling freelancer can be great. You get to experience new cultures, dip into the international freelancing community and serve clients from all over the globe. However, protecting your data is an essential part of doing all that carefree. There is nothing worse than losing all of your hard work, getting your gadgets stolen or your email compromised. Here are five steps that you should definitely consider taking when travelling and doing your work...

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How to travel and protect your data:
5 Security Tips
8/3/2015
FREELANCER TIPS

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How to travel and protect your data:
5 Security Tips
Being a travelling freelancer can be great. You get to
experience new cultures, dip into the international
freelancing community and serve clients from all over the
globe. However, protecting your data is an essential part of
doing all that carefree. There is nothing worse than losing
all of your hard work, getting your gadgets stolen or your
email compromised. Here are five steps that you should
definitely consider taking when travelling and doing your
work:
8/3/2015

3. info@freelancermap.com© freelancermap.com
How to travel and protect your data:
5 Security Tips
8/3/2015

4. info@freelancermap.com© freelancermap.com
1) Backup all your files in the cloud
First of all, have a backup of everything. I personally use
Dropbox, as it seamlessly updates my files as soon as I save
them, allowing me to access my work from anywhere. There
are many other platforms that offer similar services, such as
Google Drive or ADrive. We did an article comparing these
last year: http://www.freelancermap.com/freelancer-
tips/8002-the-4-best-free-online-storage-tools
Consider having a hard copy, too. Portable hard drives are easy
and cheap to come by nowadays. If you need a lot of storage
and don’t want to carry your laptop around everywhere, this
is an excellent option.
8/3/2015

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2) Update your software
Secondly, always update your software before going
somewhere. Whether it the OS on your computer or
phone, your browser, antivirus program or any apps that
you might be using, updates are a must. They often tackle
flaws and bugs, as well as known exploits. Last week,
Stagefright, an Android flaw that could leave as much as
950 million of devices exposed was made public and
Google quickly tackled the problem, for those who updated
their software.
8/3/2015

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3) Use a VPN
Using a virtual private network (VPN) is often the best way for
having a secure internet connection. It essentially creates a
network within the network you’re using and employs
various security protocols to make sure your connection
cannot be tampered with. Some VPN services are free,
others will charge you around 4-10$ a month. Check out
this article for an overview of security-focused VPN options
https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-
provider-review-2015-150228/.
8/3/2015

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4) Be careful with Wi-Fi or have your own
Internet
Free wireless networks are great for doing something quickly,
but most of them are pretty slow. Additionally, they
represent a security risk that you might not want to take. If
you can, prioritize using encrypted, password-protected
networks. Most hotels and many cafés have these.
If you want to be the only person using your Internet and be
sure that you won’t have to rely on your hotel to have a
wireless network, many providers offer USB sticks which
will give you access to the worldwide web. These vary
greatly by country, so make sure you do your research
before setting off.
8/3/2015

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5) Protecting your passwords
Last, but not least, protect your passwords. For most people, the email
password is a gateway to all others, so that should be a priority. Many
email providers, like Gmail, offer two-factor authentication as an
option. To get into your email, you will need to type in the password
and an additional one-time unique code by which you receive by SMS,
for example.
So-called password managers can store all your passwords securely, too –
here’s a piece the Wall Street Journal did on some of the better ones.
Some will even generate random passwords in certain time intervals:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527023036472045795458
01399272852. For the more tech-savvy there are always things like
print scanners, but as this technology isn’t available to a lot of devices
you might have a problem if you lose your main one or it gets stolen.
8/3/2015

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8/3/2015