Home TRAVEL TIPS How to Stay Safe Online While Traveling in Florida

How to Stay Safe Online While Traveling in Florida

woman on a cell phone

Florida is a great travel destination, with excellent weather almost all year round and home to some of the most exciting places in the US; it’s no surprise that it attracts millions of visitors each year.

While you’re traveling around Florida, the Sunshine State, you’ll likely be sharing photos from your trip on social networking sites and messaging friends from around the world.

However, if you’re using public wi-fi hotspots in Florida while traveling, you’re exposing yourself to many online risks. Internet safety has never been more critical. Given that Florida is yet to pass data privacy laws, you must know how to protect your privacy and security on the internet.

Keep reading to find out how to stay safe online while in Florida!

Only Connect to Secure Wi-fi Networks

When you’re moving from city to city in Florida, you’ll be met with an abundance of free public wi-fi hotspots. On the one hand, this is great and allows you to check-in with your emails or social media networks.

However, hackers often use public wi-fi networks. Hackers abuse these public hotspots to steal other internet users’ personal data and spy on their internet activity. Since this can lead to identity theft and even fraud, it’s wise to only use secure networks in places that you trust.

Limit How Much You Access Sensitive Accounts

Following the point above, it is wise not to access sensitive accounts while connected to public networks in Florida. If these networks are compromised, then third parties could easily access your most sensitive information like online banking credentials.

Use a VPN

A VPN is one of the best ways to protect your privacy while surfing the web in Florida. Firstly, a VPN for Florida encrypts your data, meaning it is hidden from third parties. With a VPN, you can safely connect to a public wi-fi network, safe in the knowledge that no cyber criminals can see your activity.

Moreover, since a VPN hides your web traffic, you can rest assured that your data won’t be stored and shared by Florida-based internet companies or websites. Data logging and selling is a hot commodity and seriously infringes on our personal privacy. With a VPN, you can ensure your web data isn’t monetized by third parties.

Install Antivirus on Your Phone

Finally, ensuring you have good antivirus software on your phone while you travel around Florida is essential. Even though antivirus solutions are vital for protecting your device from malware, they also help users if they lose their phone.

Nowadays, antivirus services come with anti-theft tools. If enabled, users can trace their phone online from another device and remotely lock or wipe it to ensure that their data stays safe.