If you are like millions of others, you will be doing some traveling this holiday season. If so, staying connected while away from home has never been easier—or potentially more dangerous.

Unsecured internet connections can leave you vulnerable to attacks by hackers, allowing your credit card, password, or other sensitive information be stolen, as well as exposing your laptop to viruses and other potential risks. To protect yourself, be sure to take security precautions whenever you are using an unsecured network.

• Avoid sending credit card numbers, banking information, or passwords unless you are absolutely sure your connection is secure and there is no chance of it being stolen.
• Try to use encrypted hotspots, to help ensure maximum security.
• If possible, use a virtual private network (VPN) for added security. VPNs are often used by companies on their employee’s laptops, creating a unique encrypted connection
• Set your laptop to ask permission before joining a wireless network rather than having it connect automatically.
• If you have file sharing turned on for your home or office, make sure to turn it off when you use a public connection. This will prevent others on the network from gaining access to your files.
• Be sure to have up-to-date antivirus and anti-spyware programs running on your computer. You don’t know where those other computers on that wireless network have been.
• Use a firewall to help block unapproved access to your computer.
• Send and receive e-mail through a secure Web browser, rather than using a PC-based program.  
• Be careful when using instant messenger programs as many are unsecured, but if you must chat, be sure to take the precautions above.      

By taking these precautions you can help ensure that while traveling over the holidays you won’t have any unexpected headaches to deal with.