Surfing Safely under the Palms: Botfrei Gives Six Tips on Holidaying with the Smartphone

• Enjoy untroubled holidays with secure smartphones: Botfrei gives holiday-makers six tips to take on your trip

• EU Roaming available since 15 June: A free and safer alternative when travelling abroad within the EU instead of using potentially insecure Wi-Fi networks

Free Wi-Fi networks are very popular when travelling: Many travelers still want to be able to send selfies home on WhatsApp or Facebook, even when they’re abroad. But free Wi-Fi in hotels or cafés harbor great risks, as Peter Meyer, Leader of the Anti-Botnet Advisory Center Botfree at eco – Association of the Internet Industry, knows. “Criminals can try to steal the personal details of users or distribute malware on insufficiently secure Wi-Fi networks.” It is not possible to trace who has access to a router and can add or change settings.

“Just like holiday-makers use plenty of sun screen to protect themselves from getting burned, they should also prepare their mobile devices for the coming holiday,” says Meyer. The Anti-Botnet Advisory Center Botfree offers six tips to ensure safe surfing under the palms:

1. Before the trip, update the firmware on the smartphones and all apps, to patch any potential vulnerabilities
2. As basic protection, install, update and activate antivirus software on your Android device, such as the Botfree EU-Cleaner Mobile
3. Protect your device against unauthorized access by using a PIN, pattern, or password. Encryption of apps, folders, and personal data ensures additional security. Functions that allow your Android phone to found and blocked over the Android device manager from Google or other tracking tools offer additional security.
4. Do not lend your mobile device to strangers and never let it out of your sight
5. Only use public hotspots with protection. A VPN helps with this. In this way, a tunnel is created and data is transferred through it in encrypted form. Criminals then have no possibility to spy on your data
6. No matter what, do a complete backup of the system and your personal data before going on holiday

Since 15 June 2017, it has become particularly easy to avoid potentially insecure Wi-Fi networks when travelling abroad within the EU: The European parliament and the EU Member States have agreed on the abolishment of EU-roaming charges. Smartphone users in the 28 EU countries now no longer rack up more costs when they use the mobile Internet with their smartphone abroad than in their homeland.

More tools for keeping your data safe can be found at www.botfree.eu/en/.
Botfree is a service from eco – Association of the Internet industry

A photo of Peter Meyer, leader of Botfree, is available here.