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I’ve successfully and unintentionally clothed most of the world’s Airbnb community, simply by always leaving an item of clothing behind. But losing a t-shirt pales in comparison to leaving behind a laptop, and moving around in unfamiliar environments is always a cyber risk. Whether that’s being vulnerable to theft or in my case being vulnerable to being a forgetful idiot. With that in mind, I have put together my detailed list of everything that I adhere to for staying secure as a nomad – and whether I’m in the Cotswolds or Medellín, I follow the same rules.
How to secure your portable devices
Physically I invested in a Kensington lock, the majority of Windows laptops have a little rectangular notch on the side, known as a Kensington Security Slot, where you can attach a cable to secure it to a fixed point. You’ll probably recognise them from electronic retail stores when they have laptops on display.
Normally, they have a lock and key mechanism, but, classic me, I’ll definitely lose that key. So, I was pleased to discover that you can buy them with a combination lock.
I attach it to the Kensington slot on my laptop and then loop it through an immoveable item in the house/café, like a pole of some kind. If that’s not possible, then through a piece of heavy furniture. If somebody wants to steal my laptop, they better be bloody prepared to take the sofa or dining room table with them.
It’s also incredibly useful if you work a lot in public places, if you need to pop to the toilet, nip out for a ciggie, or whatever your vice is, you can rest assured that your laptop will be there when it gets back… nobody is getting out of a café with a table.
Note: Kensington also manufacture an alternative for MacBooks, which you can see here.
And here is the combo lock I use for my laptop.
In addition to the risk of losing or having your laptop stolen, you have to consider the potential risk of data corruption, so for that matter the next thing to consider are backups. My approach to backups are two-fold: I have two 2TB SSDs on my laptop and they replicate each other. SSDs are so cheap these days and the majority of modern laptops (not you, Apple) come with a secondary SSD slot, simply purchase an extra SSD from Amazon and, if you’re not sure what you’re doing, take it down to your nearest IT shop to install, it’s a five-minute job. Whilst I keep a lot of my data in a secure cloud, I have hundreds of GBs of photos from my travels all across the globe and it would break my heart if I lost them. And if I lose the laptop? The files are replicated a second time and backed up with NordLocker, which is a free secure storage service from NordVPN, for those that have purchased their VPN service. It comes with 1TB of free storage and I wrote scripts with help from ChatGPT that run every time I boot up my PC that replicates the main SSD and then replicates a second time into the secure cloud. Honestly, I couldn’t program a winning round of Tetris, so I just plonked the dilemma into ChatGPT and voila it gave me the script and detailed instructions.
Hard Drive Encryption
Another important step to protect your data is to use full disk encryption. On Windows 10/11 Professional or Enterprise, you can activate BitLocker, which encrypts your hard drive. This encryption ensures your data remains inaccessible if someone removes the hard drive from your laptop and tries to access it using another device or operating system. Without encryption, a thief could bypass your laptop’s password protection by removing the hard drive and connecting it to another machine. BitLocker prevents this by tying the drive’s decryption to a secure key stored in your device’s Trusted Platform Module (TPM) or requiring a recovery key.
If someone simply steals your laptop and knows your login password, they can still access your data if the system is fully booted and the decryption key has already been applied. However, if they lack the password and attempt to bypass your operating system or remove the drive, BitLocker ensures the data remains encrypted and unreadable without the proper key.
For MacBook users, FileVault, Apple’s built-in encryption tool, provides similar protection by encrypting the startup disk. If the disk is removed or the system is accessed without proper credentials, the data remains protected unless the decryption key or recovery key is provided.
Antivirus Protection
When it comes to antivirus protection, the pre-bundled option of Microsoft Defender is a reliable enough option that meets the needs of most Windows users. It offers real-time threat detection, regular updates and seamless integration with Windows 10/11, ensuring minimal impact on system performance. For the average user, Microsoft Defender is more than sufficient to protect against common threats, and if you want an extra little boost, combine it with MalwareBytes and that should be all you’ll ever need.
However, if you are working in particularly risky or sensitive environments, or just a bit paranoid, you might consider exploring additional antivirus solutions like CrowdStrike Falcon, Sophos Intercept X, or ESET Endpoint Security are highly regarded for their enterprise-grade threat detection and prevention capabilities, such as advanced threat detection, sandboxing, and more granular control.
For Mac users, and yes I can hear you from here “mACs dOn’t gET viRusEs”, sigh, while macOS is generally considered secure due to its Unix-based architecture and Apple’s built-in security measures, it is not immune to threats, Repeat, it is not immune to threats. The system’s built-in tools offer basic malware protection and app verification, making third-party antivirus software unnecessary for *most* users. However, if you handle sensitive data, regularly download software from outside the Mac App Store, or simply want peace of mind, a third-party antivirus solutions such as CrowdStrike Falcon for Mac, Sophos Home Premium, or Jamf Protect might be worth considering. While macOS isn’t as frequently targeted as Windows, the rise of sophisticated phishing and malware campaigns means that no system is entirely risk-free and if you’re a nomadic entrepreneur, do you really want to take the risk?
Virtual Private Network
A VPN is a no-brainer for soooo many reasons, but the number one is: you’re no doubt going to be connecting to so many free and open Wi-Fi networks and that’s hacker-city baby. Everybody will have their personal favourite, but I use NordVPN as it comes bundled with other bits (NordPass and NordLocker, referenced in this post) and I get it free as part of my Revolut Ultra subscription, which pays for itself so quickly if you use all of the bundled goodies it comes with.
Whilst the standard functionality allows you to pick a server either based on fastest available, which will generally be the server that is physically closest to your current location, you can also set it to a particular country (handy for watching Netflix on the move), but NordVPN also comes with a host of speciality servers that you can use, which are:
A dedicated IP server which assigns you a unique IP address that only you use, which can reduce the chance of your IP being flagged or blocked.
Double VPN which routes your internet traffic through two VPN servers instead of one, adding an extra layer of encryption.
Onion Over VPN which combines the encryption of a VPN with the Tor network (The Onion Router), routing your traffic through multiple Tor nodes for extra anonymity. Which is great for accessing the dark web securely and can protect your identity from heavy surveillance, just note it can slow down your connection moreso than other options.
P2P Servers which are optimised for peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, like torrents to provide fast and stable connections for downloading or uploading large files.
And finally obfuscated servers conceal the fact that you’re using a VPN, making your encrypted traffic appear as normal internet traffic, which is incredibly useful in countries or networks where VPNs are blocked or restricted and can help to bypass firewalls and deep packet inspection (DPI) techniques.
The reason I use NordVPN is because it’s packed with features and comes bundled with extras like NordPass (a password manager) and NordLocker (encrypted file storage). Oh, and I get it free with my Revolut Ultra subscription, which pays for itself so quickly if you take advantage of all the little bundled perks.
Now, let’s talk hardware. Many nomads swear by the GL.iNet router. It’s a compact travel router, not much bigger than a pack of cigarettes, which can create your own secure Wi-Fi network by connecting to public hotspots and running all traffic through your VPN of choice. It’s like an additional layer of protection and is especially handy if you’re on the move with multiple devices like a laptop, phone, or tablet, like myself, that has decided to bring half an office on my travels. It’s not necessarily an alternative to a software VPN like NordVPN but rather a complement to it. You can load your VPN settings directly onto the little router, so any device connected to it is automatically protected without needing separate VPN software on each one.
Oh and cool bonus fact? The model pictured is called Beryl, which was my gran’s name, so it gets my vote.
Biometrics
Now, I know that fingerprints and face recognition makes life a lot easier and a lot less easy to replicate than a password, but I would be very careful about what you allow to unlock by facial or fingerprint recognition. There have been more than enough stories coming out of a certain DN hotspot, that I won’t mention by name, where DNs are being drugged and their belongings or finances being wiped clean with the aid of biometrics whilst they are unconscious. There are pros and cons for both sides, but personally, I can only access my password database or banking with a password and I would advise the same approach. Both of course are backed up with MFA, passkeys and just about every other secure option they can throw at me.
Password manager
I used 1Password for years and have nothing but good things to say about it and at only a few pounds a month, it’s great value for money. I switched to NordPass, purely because it’s bundled free with NordVPN, which is also free when you take out a Revolut Ultra subscription. They’re pretty much identical in what they offer, but I would say, NordPass has some very minor UI glitches that get on my nerves sometimes, if I was paying I’d switch back to 1Password, but it’s not serious enough to bother me. By comparison, 1Password is absolutely faultless.
So, how do password managers actually work? In simple terms, they act as a secure vault for all your passwords. Instead of trying to remember dozens (or hundreds) of complex passwords, or if you’re an absolute balloon animal and you use the same password for everything, you only need to remember one master password to unlock the manager.
Wait, hold on a minute James… all of my passwords are going to be held behind a single fallible password? Now, hold on. These password managers are applications, either on your phone or your computer and in order to add them to said device for the first time, it requires a combination of an account login, a master password and a complex security key – basically, three passwords oh and then you’ll have to authorise that login with 2FA. Once it’s installed and authorised on that device, you then only need your master password to “unlock” your password database. Now, you can unlock with biometrics, but as I referenced earlier, I have opted to switch this off as I believe using a password is safer in this regard.
The password manager securely stores your login details for different accounts and can auto-fill them when you visit a website or app, so let’s say your computer got hacked and the hacker installed a keystroke logger (where they record what buttons you press remotely) and scraped all your passwords, you’d be protected because you don’t have to type in any passwords. And yes, this is exactly what happened to me a few years ago and is what prompted me to get a password manager. Many password managers also generate strong, unique passwords for each account, helping to ensure that a data breach on one service doesn’t compromise your other accounts. Honestly it’s the single most valuable piece of software I’ve ever had, you absolutely must get NordPass or 1Password.
2FA/MFA
If you’re reading this wondering what 2FA or MFA is, you’re in big trouble kiddo. Passwords are the single greatest point of failure for breaches and 2FA is your protection. 2FA requires you to enter a secondary time-sensitive password on a mobile device, normally provided by an app like Authy or Google Authenticator. You can use SMS as an option, but it’s temperamental at the best of times. A good rule I’ve always followed now is that if an online service doesn’t have 2FA/MFA option then I simply do not use it, or I do not store my sensitive information. One that always surprised me was ASOS, like I store my credit/debit cards in there along with my addresses and they don’t offer 2FA, which is wild. As a result, I no longer store my payment details in my ASOS account.
Burner Phone
Jesus Christ, it’s Jason Bourne. OK, the term “burner phone” is probably better replaced by backup smartphone. But burner phone sounds cool. But have you ever thought how much is connected and authorised by your phone? 2FA/MFA requests, authentication over text, banking, password managers and so on. Losing your phone can potentially be trip-ending. Personally, I travel with my old iPhone and it’s locked in a portable safe with my laptop, which in turn is locked to my luggage when on the move and then locked to something immovable when I settle in somewhere.
So… that’s how I keep secure on the move? Maybe you have something to add or have any questions – fire away in the comments.
