We hope you have had a nice vacation and are well rested to return to work.
But before you begin, there are a few things that you might consider doing before you really start again.
- WiFi networks
If you stayed in a hotel, been at an attraction park, or used public transportation, you might have used the available (free) WiFi. Those network names are still stored in your phone or laptop. And they can be abused.
In some cases, your mobile devices broadcast those networks. They try to access them because they know it worked in the past. Hackers can listen to those broadcasts, set up a rogue access point with that name, and offer your mobile device a way to connect to the internet.
Most important apps, like for your bank, are somewhat safe to use over these kinds of networks. Many apps, though, don't care whether they connect to the right server or not. Hackers can interfere with those apps. The least they can do is show you their ads instead of those provided by the app provider.
Our advice is to "forget" those networks.
See this link for Android.
See this link for iPhone. - Accounts used for bookings
Some companies require you to create an account when booking their service. Of course, they all adhere to the GDPR, but some do not. And you don't know which do or don't. And let's not talk about compromises. You don't want your information to get into the hands of criminals when they breach the company you just provided a lot of information to,
We advise deleting those accounts when you no longer need to contact that organization. They are legally obliged to do so, and they have to provide you with a way to tell them.
You, of course, used a new, unique password when creating that account.
Even better is to use temporary email addresses when creating such accounts. If they won't delete your account, you can delete the email address. Another advantage is you can now detect when something phishy happened to that company when spam or other strange emails suddenly appear in that mailbox.
This is something to remember next year.A temporary email address has one disadvantage. You won't get informed when the company you used it at to create an account is breached. If you have had to provide the organization with a lot of personal information, it is best to wait to delete the address until you have confirmation they have deleted your information.
- Mobile apps
Apps are a convenient way to help you access information about your hotels, vacation spots, and tourist attractions. Some tourist attractions even have their own app to reserve spots, get discounts and more.
What to do with all those apps after returning from your vacation?
Remove them from your smartphone. Select the app and uninstall it. Not only remove it from your home screen.Every app is a potential risk to your phone, data and, ultimately, you and your family. Especially when you don't use the app anymore. You won't notice when something has changed, or it is hacked to get access to your device.
- eduVPN Secure Internet Access
You know you can use eduVPN in a Secure Internet Access way?
Secure Internet provides secure and privacy-preserving access from public networks by providing secure gateways to trusted networks. This way, you don't need to be afraid of unsecured public WiFi networks (but remember to remove them from your mobile device after your vacation).
After your vacation, it is best to configure eduVPN again to use the Institute Access to be able to access applications and websites in the university's network.
See the VPN information on the university's service page. In short:
- Add a new connection in the eduVPN app.
- Enter "University of Twente".
- Select Secure Internet.
