December 08, 2025
Imagine you're three hours into a five-hour road trip to visit family for the holidays. Your daughter asks, "Can I play Roblox on your laptop?" The work laptop — the one holding client files, financial info, and access to your entire business. You're already worn out from packing and still have three hours of driving ahead. Honestly, keeping her entertained sounds like a good idea right now. But is it safe?
Holiday travel introduces unique security risks that our daily routines don't usually encounter. You're tired, distracted, connecting to unfamiliar WiFi networks, and frequently juggling personal time with quick work check-ins. Whether you're traveling for business, pleasure, or a mix of both, here's how you can safeguard your data without spoiling the festive spirit.
Before You Hit the Road: Quick 15-Minute Security Setup
Spend just 15 minutes prepping before your trip to ensure smooth and secure travels:
Essential Device Prep:
- Update all security patches and software immediately
- Backup crucial files to a reliable cloud service
- Activate auto screen lock set to trigger in two minutes or less
- Enable "Find My Device" features on all phones and laptops
- Fully charge your portable power banks
- Bring your personal chargers and necessary adapters
Have a Family Conversation:
- Clearly communicate which devices the children are allowed to use
- Consider bringing a dedicated family tablet or secondary device for entertainment
- Create a separate, limited user profile on your laptop if kids must use it
Pro tip: If kids need device time during travel, bring a tablet NOT linked to your work accounts. A $150 iPad is a small price compared to the cost of a security breach.
Hotel WiFi: The Common Security Pitfall
Once the family checks into the hotel, everyone rushes to connect to the WiFi — phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming consoles. Your teen streams Netflix, your spouse checks emails, and you're trying to finalize a presentation for tomorrow.
Here's the catch: Hotel WiFi is a public network serving hundreds of guests, many of whom may not have the best intentions.
True story: A family connected to what seemed like their hotel's WiFi — but it was a fake network set up in the parking lot. For two days, all their online activity, from passwords to credit card info, was intercepted.
Protect Yourself:
Confirm the exact WiFi name with the front desk. Don't just guess.
Use a VPN for work: Encrypt your connection when accessing work emails or company files.
Use your phone's hotspot for sensitive tasks: For banking or confidential data, avoid public WiFi and use your mobile data instead.
Separate work and leisure: Kids can stream cartoons using hotel WiFi, but for any work-related activities, switch to your hotspot.
The "Can I Use Your Laptop?" Dilemma
Your work laptop contains everything — emails, bank access, client files, business platforms. Meanwhile, your kids want to watch videos, play games, or chat with friends.
Why this is risky: Kids might unintentionally download harmful software, click suspicious pop-ups, share passwords, or forget to log out. These innocent actions pose serious security threats on work devices.
Best Practices:
Say no to work devices: Politely but firmly say, "This is my work computer, you can use [another device]." Stick to this rule.
If sharing is unavoidable:
- Set up a restricted user account
- Supervise their activity
- Prevent downloads
- Avoid saving their passwords
- Clear browsing history after use
Better solution: Travel with a dedicated family device, even an older tablet or laptop that's completely separate from work.
Streaming on Hotel TVs: Don't Forget to Log Out
After a long day, the family wants to watch Netflix on the hotel's smart TV. Someone logs into your account, but in the morning rush, you forget to log out.
Risks: The next guest accesses your account. Even worse, if you reuse passwords (hopefully not!), it jeopardizes other services.
How to avoid problems:
- Use your device to cast to the TV — safer than direct login
- Set a phone reminder to log out before checkout if you have to log in
- Better yet, download shows to your device in advance and skip hotel TVs altogether
Never log into these on shared hotel TVs:
- Banking apps
- Work email and accounts
- Social media
- Any account with saved payment details
Lost Device? Act Fast:
Traveling can be hectic — devices get forgotten in restaurants, hotel rooms, rental cars, or airport checks.If your device goes missing…
Within the first hour:
- Use "Find My Device" to locate or lock it remotely
- Change passwords for essential accounts from another device
- Contact your IT support to revoke system access
- Alert any parties impacted if sensitive data was on the device
What to have set up BEFORE you travel:
- Enabled remote tracking
- Strong, unique passwords
- Automatic data encryption
- Ability to remotely wipe data
Device lost by a family member? Follow the same steps: lock remotely, reset passwords, and try to locate it.
Beware the Rental Car Data Pitfall
Connecting your phone to a rental car's Bluetooth to play music or navigate is convenient. However, cars often save your contacts, recent calls, and text previews.
When you return the car, all that personal data might remain accessible to the next driver.
Quick 30-Second Checklist Before Return:
- Delete your phone from the car's Bluetooth settings
- Clear GPS recent destinations
- Or better yet, use an aux cable or avoid connecting altogether
Work-Life Boundaries During Vacation
Although you promised quality family time, you find yourself checking work email obsessively, hopping on calls, and working on your laptop while others enjoy activities.
This constant switching lowers your security guard — you're distracted, rushed, and more vulnerable to unsafe clicks or insecure networks.
The honest truth: If unplugging completely isn't an option, set clear limits:
- Check emails only twice daily at set times
- Use your phone hotspot for work, not public hotel WiFi
- Work from private spaces like your room, avoiding public areas
- Focus fully on family during non-work time
And the ultimate security tip? Take actual time off. Your business will survive a week without you, and you'll return more alert and secure.
The Holiday Travel Security Mindset
Let's be real: juggling work and family during holiday travel is messy. Sometimes your child really needs your laptop. Sometimes you must respond to urgent work emails while your spouse drives. Life happens.
The goal isn't perfect security — it's being smart about managing risk:
- Prepare your devices thoroughly before leaving
- Know which activities pose risks (like hotel WiFi for banking) versus safe alternatives (using your hotspot)
- Create clear boundaries between work and family device usage
- Have a plan to respond if things go wrong
- Be confident in saying, "Not on this device" — and mean it
Create Joyous Holiday Memories, Not Security Headaches
The holidays should be about cherished moments with loved ones — not about data breaches or explaining client confidentiality mishaps.
With a bit of preparation and practical rules, you can protect your business without sacrificing your family's enjoyment. Everyone wins: your family gets the holiday, and your business stays secure.
Need help designing travel security policies for your team and yourself? Click here or call us at 907-865-3100 to schedule a free Discovery Call. We'll guide you to create effective, easy-to-follow security protocols that keep your business safe during travel.
Because the best holiday memory shouldn't be, "Remember when Dad's laptop got hacked?"
