Making cents: Leave some devices at home when on holiday

If you have a holiday coming up, you may have great plans to chuck all devices out the window and have a relaxing internet-free break, writes Grainne McGuinness.

Until that is you remember how handy the tablet is when the kids act up and that you will want to share pictures of your holiday with family and friends.

Realistically, although lots of us aspire to log off as much as possible, actually going cold turkey is a bridge too far. With that in mind, there are a few things you should consider when packing technology for your trip.

IT security and cybercrime analyst Urban Schrott warns that being outside the familiar environment of your home or office may expose you to unforeseen threats.

“You would be well-advised to be doubly cyber-vigilant, or else pesky insects may be the least of your worries during your time off,” he says.

The first piece of advice is to consider how many devices you need to bring with you. While the house may be littered with multiple smartphones, tablets and laptops, they do not all need to go on holiday with you. Having fewer devices to hand will hopefully reduce the amount of time you spend on them but will also reduce the risk of them being compromised. If you use a phone or tablet a lot for work, you may want to consider leaving it behind, particularly if it contains sensitive information.

“You’re giving cyber-criminals fewer opportunities for compromising your digital assets and information,” Schrott says.

“The especially wary may want to consider using a temporary or throwaway device and ensure that it contains as little in the way of private information as possible.”

Make sure that any devices you do bring are running the most up-to-date version of their operating software. Updates may be a pain but regularly include security fixes that deal with any vulnerabilities in the system that cybercriminals are trying to exploit. Schrott also recommends using reputable anti-malware software and ensuring that it too has been recently updated. Take a moment to go through any devices you are bringing and delete unused apps and close out old accounts, minimising the risk of attacks.

Prepare your device in case the worst should happen. Often it is the personal data lost, particularly photos and videos, that is the worst part of having a phone stolen. Backup your files before you go, be it to a cloud server or on a memory card.

Make sure your devices are protected if thieves do get hold of them. Set the screen to auto-lock shortly after falling idle and use a strong password or PIN code. If available, use authentication such as fingerprint scanning or facial recognition.

Another thing to be aware of is the risks that come with wifi, open networks can be exploited by criminals. We are all keen to avoid racking up a big bill while abroad but be extremely cautious of what you do on public wifi networks; don’t undertake financial transactions on them and avoid entering passwords.

EU ‘Roam like Home’ regulations introduced last year mean that phone plans in Ireland remain the same while you are in the EU but it is important to fully understand your policy.

“We would always advise you check with your mobile operator to understand your data allowances before you go,” says Carphone Warehouse head of commercial Declan Kenny.

While using data in the EU, it will be subject to a fair usage policy. This is set by your network and while some networks are allowing full usage of data, others are giving up to 7GB EU data roaming. It is best to check to see how much allowance you have while you roam as out of plan charges will apply when you go over your allowance

Phone companies can charge up to €7.70 plus VAT for one gigabyte of data if you exceed the deal in place in your bill bundle which equates to a couple of hours of normal internet usage, like Instagram or Google. Using YouTube and streaming sites such as Netflix will eat into the data quicker, so take care.

Deal of the week

AIB Everyday Rewards has launched an enhanced range of cash back offers for the summer.

The cashback programme has been running for a little over a year, and offers AIB customers cashback on some brands when they pay using their AIB credit and/or debit card.

The new offers for summer include brands such as Lidl, 356 Tickets, Omniplex Cinemas, Wagamama and Captain Americas, so users can earn cash back while having some family days out during the school holidays.

Customers who are registered do not have to take any action to redeem an offer, simply pay with AIB Visa Card they have registered. AIB will credit your account, normally within five business days, and email you confirmation.

Customers can register up to five cards for the programme. If you are an AIB customer and haven’t yet registered you can find out more about the programme and register at aib.ie.