Travel season is here: 7 tips and tricks from a tech and traveling pro

May 28, 2024

I’ve been to 32 countries and traveling can be stressful, but with a little knowledge and planning, you can relax and enjoy your trip rather than worry.

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Use sites you know and trust

I am a technology expert and we need to make these technology changes now before it’s too late.

Scammers are good at creating fake travel apps and sites to trick people, and AI tools make it even easier to create them. Luckily, there are some signs that can help you avoid scams.

Check out the official resources: The Better Business Bureau can be very helpful in determining if a business is legitimate. This agency lists real companies. If you can’t find the company they’re doing business with, it’s best to run.
Online reviews and ratings: Read online reviews and ratings on sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google, etc. Incredibly positive and negative reviews did it They may be fake. Look for balance and a consistent theme in the reviews.
Certifications and Licenses: Many legitimate travel agents are members of recognized industry associations such as the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) or are accredited by IATA (International Air Transport Association). Check their websites to see their credentials.
Transparent pricing: Legitimate sites will clearly display all costs. Be wary of sites that have hidden fees or don’t clearly explain costs.
Secure payment options: Reputable travel sites offer safe and well-known payment options – be wary of sites that only accept bank transfers or money orders.

Speaking of which, I recently had an amazing trip to Japan. Check out my travel tips on YouTubeYou’ll definitely want to add this to your bucket list!

Track your bag

Lost luggage can ruin your trip, so many major airlines (including United, American, Delta and Air New Zealand) offer real-time baggage tracking through the airline’s official app, which you should download before you travel.

Travelers with luggage use smartphones while waiting in line for boarding at airport. (iStock)

Pro Tip: You may come across copycat apps when searching an app store, so visit the airline’s official website and look for a link to the app in the header or footer.

For peace of mind, I pack an Apple AirTag in my checked luggage.

Apple’s AirTags Perfect for iPhone, Mac, and iPad.
of Tile Essentials 4 Pack It comes with a variety of tags that you can use on anything you like: keys, wallets, luggage, etc. It’s a great option for Android.

Set Gmail and Drive to offline mode.

Sometimes your connection is so bad that your inbox can’t even load. Luckily, with some planning, you can queue up all your replies.

For Gmail on your desktop:

hit Settings cog > Show all settings.
please select off-line Click the tab, Enable offline mail.
From here, select the number of days’ worth of messages you want to sync.
click Save changes.

If autocorrect is annoying you, fix it

Now, do the same for your frequently used documents in Google Drive – you’ll need to do this for each document, so make sure you have it prepared in advance.

First, enable the setting:

Open Google Drive.
Top right Settings cog > setting.
turn around upon off-line.

Depending on your storage, your recent files will be automatically saved offline. To manually select files:

In the file you want to use, File > Make available offline.

In-flight Wi-Fi is now available! Before you start browsing…

Most of us find a random network name and click on it without giving it much thought. That’s what hackers do: Scammers can create fake Wi-Fi networks with little to no thought. Same Pay attention to the name of the airline, otherwise you may end up connecting to a counterfeit network instead of the genuine one.

If the options look similar, ask airline staff which network is correct, and they may even play a PSA on board if they find out it’s fake.

Wi-Fi and seat belt signs are illuminated on a Delta Airlines plane at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in Morrisville, North Carolina, USA, Thursday, January 20, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Oh, and turn on your VPN.

Typically, everything you do on the internet can be seen by anyone with the right know-how. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your data and acts as a shield to protect it from prying eyes. VPNs aren’t as reliable over the air, but it’s still worth keeping one turned on.

do not have It is optional if you are accessing sites that contain financial or other sensitive personal information.

Double-check your AirDrop settings

Once, I was at an airport and a strange photo was sent to my phone. I looked around and saw some teenagers giggling. It was funny, sure, but none of these pranks are innocent.

Keyloggers record everything you type, and criminals like to pass it on using Apple’s AirDrop feature. Don’t accept drops from strangers while flying.

For iPhone:

Go to setting > general > Airdrop.

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You can set your phone to deny all AirDrop requests, allow requests only from your contacts, or allow requests from everyone (the last setting isn’t the best for traveling).

On a Mac:

click Control Center It’s in your menu bar (it’s the icon with two toggles).
click AirdropFrom here you can turn it on or off and choose who can send items to it.

Your phone is worth it

That’s worth a lot more than what someone would sell it for. (Although that’s a pretty attractive amount if you have a new phone.) Think about all the accounts connected to it — your bank and other financial apps, your email inbox, your private text messages, who knows what they might contain.

When you’re in public, hide your PIN. If you absolutely must open your phone in public, use Face ID or your fingerprint.
Don’t use a simple PIN either. Don’t use a 4 digit number. Make it as long as you can remember.
If you don’t want to use Face ID, use a passcode that contains numbers and letters if your phone allows it.