Travel security gadgets/apps
 

Hi
I'm prepping my travel stuff, here's what I have:
- security luggage from Pacsafe ( it has wire mesh in the fabric)
- travel door latch
- travel door/window alarm
- rfid sleeves for credit card and passport
- vpn app

For those of us that are security conscious ( some may say paranoid) what other security gadgets/apps (android)have you used/suggest.

Happy travels

don't take anything you care about, I don't understand what any of the things you are taking and I've traveled to some very dodgy places without such stuff, I'm not sure it is a good state of mind to travel with these "protective spirits" to watch over you

The best protection is always being aware of your surroundings. Keep wallet in a secure place as I agree with poster above not yo take anything along that you really care about.. The rest of your purchases seem like overkill to me.

rfidfor credit card, ah just reading back I do have a sheet of aluminium foil built into my wallet but really just material off the kitchen roll. And I've tested it but that is for use in the UK.

The RFID sleeves are the only things on your list that I own... and I usually forget to use them.

Never used any of this stuff, except the VPN, which was more trouble than it was worth.

Where are you going that makes you so paranoid, ahem, security conscious?

I use none of those things. I do sometimes take a money belt type under clothing pouch to use on heavy public transport days. Just to hold my spare credit card(s) and back up debit card plus any excess cash I may be carrying (though there is less and less need to carry much currency)

My little Secrid wallet is RFID proof, but that isn't why I bought it.
I have a passport cover for my Dutch passport which hides my BSN (equivalent of a social security number) which I was given when I became Dutch.
The Dutch government also has a handy app for making and emailing a copy of ID with essential numbers blocked out. So if a hotel or campsite wants a copy of my passport I use that app and email it them. Funny how many decide a copy isn't essential after all.

Another app from the Dutch government keeps me up to date with covid requirements, security alerts, etc etc when I am abroad. I say which countries I want alerts for. Worked a treat last year with covid restrictions in Germany. Worked with the different rules for the different states.

As for the rest? Maybe if I was staying in hostels I would consider them, but I am not so I don't have them.

Never used a VPN and am unlikely to. I don't make banking transactions or do anything sensitive when using WiFi, and since I have unlimited roaming in Europe if I have to do something lie that I use my phone. We don't watch TV when away and don't miss it so a VPN is of no use to us for keeping up with the latest episodes of whatever.
DH had a VPN when he travelled the world for work, but that was because he worked in defence, and the company paid for it.

In a hotel it is far more important to know how to get out of it in a hurry than how to stop someone breaking in while you are there.

yep, first think I do on checking into a room is look at the little map on the back of the door, left or right?

Hi
Thank you all.
To some extent we are shaped by our experiences, I'll relate some of my experiences that make me security concious.

- while on a road trip in Michigan,USA, I drove to a roadside hotel (this was before internet booking was common).
While my family waited in the car I went to the front desk to book a room for the night, they told me this wasn't a family hotel and gave me info for accommodation elsewhere. As I walked backed to my car I heard gunshots from inside the motel.

- in Lisbon, Portugal, twice I had my wallet stolen by pickpockets.

- in Ontario, Canada, an attempt was made to compromise my ATM card with a scanner.

On top of that, all the security alertness that my employer provided after 9/11 and refreshed on a regular basis ( mental state awareness, body language, voice tone, facial expressions, eye movement, etc).

It's not so much where I'm going but what I've experienced.
So yeah... I'm a little more security conscious than most.
That's why I asked others to share their security advice/info.

Happy travels

when I was corporate we were always warned to be hyper vig in the US. But I doubt a VPN would help you in a shoot out.

I definitely use a VPN when I'm traveling. Public wifi networks are insecure (in my former life as a techie I worked on the development of network hardware).

I also use a money belt, all the time, not just when changing locations, except on the rare occasions when my room has a safe. I did have my wallet stolen in Rome, due to a late night lapse of attention, but all he got was an expiring bus pass and a small amount of cash. I was more annoyed by the loss of the wallet, which I hoped to buy back on the street the next day, but no luck.

I don't use any of the other stuff, although I do try to use ATMs physically attached to open banks, except in airports.