What's different on the road
Three things change when you travel: you use unfamiliar networks, you're visible in public, and you carry your digital work tool with you. Each of these calls for a small but specific reflex.
VPN is mandatory on foreign networks
Hotel Wi-Fi, airport, café - always activate the company VPN before anything else. Even on 'safe' providers.
Privacy screen and lock
On a train, plane, or café - the person behind you sees everything. Clip on a privacy filter, lock the screen when you step away.
Never use public USB charging blind
Public USB sockets can read data or push malware. Bring your own charger with a wall plug, or use a USB data blocker.
Rule 1 - The foreign network
Every public Wi-Fi is potentially monitored. Even with a password - all hotel guests see the same traffic, and a café-network attacker can intercept logins with cheap tools.
What to do:
- Activate the VPN immediately, before you open a single account.
- Check HTTPS: every login page must show
https://. If not: don't sign in. - Don't guess Wi-Fi names: "Free Hotel Wi-Fi" might also be a rogue hotspot next door. Ask reception for the exact name.
- Turn off Bluetooth and file sharing in public spaces.
Once connected, your device remembers the network and reconnects automatically. After the trip: have it forgotten.
Rule 2 - Visible and exposed
On a train, plane, or in a waiting area, someone sits beside or behind you. What's visible: email content, client names, financial figures, password entry.
- Stick a privacy filter on the laptop - only you see the screen.
- Avoid sensitive calls. First names are often enough. "Mr. Schmidt from UBS" can give away a lot unintentionally.
- Lock the screen when you step away - even for 30 seconds to the bathroom.
Rule 3 - Power is not innocent
Juice jacking is real: public USB sockets at airports or hotels can have prepared connectors that don't just charge but also read data or push malware.
Safe: your own charger with a wall plug. If only USB is available: a USB data blocker (small adapter that passes power only).
Rule 4 - At the border
At some border crossings (e.g. US, China, Russia) device inspection is legal. Before such trips:
- Confirm with IT: travel laptop with no sensitive data? Cleanup beforehand?
- Prepare encryption (BitLocker, FileVault).
- After the trip: check account activity, rotate passwords if access was granted.
A salesperson works from a hotel. The Wi-Fi has a captive portal ("enter your room number"). What he doesn't see: the portal was replaced by an attacker in the next room - a prepared access point with the same name. Credentials went directly to the attacker. With VPN active, the encrypted traffic would have left the hotel and the attacker would have seen nothing.
Before every trip - the 60-second checklist
- VPN app installed and working
- MFA app installed on the travel device (not only at your desk)
- MFA backup codes in your wallet (not in the laptop)
- Devices are encrypted
- Own power supply or USB data blocker packed
The simple rule
On a foreign network and in unfamiliar surroundings: nothing is private until you encrypt it yourself. VPN is your personal tunnel - activate it before anything else.