Four Social Media and Blogging Safety Tips to Live by While You’re on Vacation

It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting on the beach in the Bahamas or you’ve rented an RV and are traveling through Massachusetts, you want to share every detail of your adventure with your friends and family back home.

You might use social media, or you may have a dedicated blog page where you share information about your life. Either one you use, safety is extremely important, especially while you’re on vacation.

If a thief or a hacker figures out that you’re away from home, you may return to discover that your house has been burglarized or your accounts have been drained.

It’s important to make sure you live by these online safety tips no matter where you find yourself on vacation.

Use a Secure Connection

No matter where you access the internet, or what you’re doing online, it is important to use a secure connection.

If you’re accessing the internet from a public space, make sure you type in your password each time. Automatic logins and password entries that show the password as you type them can compromise your information.

If you’re traveling in an RV or you have a mobile hotspot, make sure you take precautions to make your connection as secure as possible.

That includes:

  • Choosing a complex username and password that is hard to guess
  • Choosing a complex network name that doesn’t give away your router’s brand
  • Activating encryptions that require a password every time a device logs in
  • Use a VPN that can mask your identity and your location

Be Clever About What You Post

You must be very clever about what you post. You don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about where you are or what you’re doing.

Never announce that you’re leaving on vacation, and never provide any specific information about when you’ll return or how long you’ll be gone.

If you want to post vacation pictures while you’re away, post the picture and use past-tense language so people think you’ve already returned home.

Disable Location-Identifying Settings

Hooking up with your friends has never been easier thanks to location settings. All you have to do is get in your car and Facebook can update where you are!

That’s trouble while you’re on vacation. Disable those settings so the bad guys have no idea you’re out of town.

Consider Waiting Until You Get Home to Post Vacation Snaps

Although it’s tempting to post updates on your vacation, and the tips on this list will make posting that information as safe as possible, it is still best not to post anything at all. If you wait until you get home, prying eyes won’t ever have the chance to do bad while you’re away from home.

It is important to think carefully about what you post online in your day-to-day life, but it is equally, if not more, important to think about what you post on vacation. With a little security know-how, you can keep your identity, belongings, and property safe no matter where you are.