I'm a US citizen, and a few months ago I chose to fulfill a lifelong dream of living in Milan, Italy. When I stepped off the plane in my new home country, one of the very first places I went was the universally dreaded Vodafone store to sign up for a home Wi-Fi plan.
Why? Because I am a freelancer by trade. I understood that, while I could hop around and work from free cafe Wi-Fi networks, a home internet connection would be the most secure way for me to work from abroad -- for myself and my many clients.
Experts agree: When you work from public Wi-Fi, "you're choosing to be as vulnerable as you could possibly be," says Michael Nizich, director of the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center at New York Institute of Technology.
An unsecured internet connection exposes your online activity and possibly even valuable client or company data to anyone who is looking. Thankfully, there are ways to protect yourself, even if you don't have a home Wi-Fi connection. American citizens working as digital nomads or traveling often, like me, could benefit a lot from a virtual private network (VPN), a tool that creates a secure internet connection no matter where you are.
I talked to two cybersecurity experts who shared with me the best online security and VPN strategy for US citizens, like me, who are working or living abroad.
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6 VPN tips for digital nomads
Cybersecurity experts Nizich and Fred Kwong, chief information security officer at DeVry University, offered these six VPN and online security tips for digital nomads.
1. Always use a VPN on public Wi-Fi
A VPN can protect you when you're using public Wi-Fi, so that ISPs or malicious actors can't view your browsing data. Moe Long/CNET
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