3 Ways F-Secure Freedome Can Save Your Vacation

I don’t know about you, but the fewer things that can go wrong on a trip, the better I feel. Of course, I’ve taken vacations where it was one big learning opportunity (ahem, Ecuador), but not in the way where I had to just give up and go home or spend my whole trip trying to take care of some horrible problem that occurred. F-Secure’s Freedome can help prevent some of those terrible things from happening. Here are just a few of the reasons why you should install it into your web-enabled electronics before leaving home:

Avoid Computer Viruses

First of all, getting a virus is highly annoying, because it can wipe your computer or just take over so you can’t use it. It’s happened to the best of us, but that’s also why we have anti-virus protection. Believe it or not, those don’t keep all viruses at bay, but F-Secure Freedome gives you an extra level of protection and shows you just how many viruses and hacks it has deflected. When you’re on vacation and something takes over your computer, it can really mess up your trip.

• You’ll have to spend your time and money looking for a place that can – hopefully – fix your laptop.
• If you use your laptop/netbook for work, you’re pretty much screwed if you have files on your actual computer you need to access.
• You either have to use your phone, use the hotel’s business center or find an internet café to be able to check/send emails, access your travel info and confirmations or look up your bank or credit card accounts. This is just as safe as not using any protection on your laptop, too.
• You’re basically now carrying around a useless block. You may as well have left it at home – except if you did that, you probably wouldn’t have gotten that virus.

Keep Your Personal Info Hidden

So, if you’ve ever had your identity stolen, or even just a credit card, you know it sucks. Ten years ago I was unfortunate enough to have someone steal my debit card info and then proceed to use it to go online and purchase a computer. After several phone calls, I was able to convince the bank that I didn’t buy that thing and had no idea who the person was who did, but it wasted everyone’s time, plus I had to wait for a new debit card and for my money to be returned. Freedome blocks your ISP and internet activity to the world, so if you keep any of those personal things on your computer, tablet or phone, it’s safe from those nefarious folks who want to use it for themselves.

• Keep your money in your bank account for you to use. If you log into your bank account online, those keystrokes won’t be able to be swiped and reused to drain you dry.
• You won’t spend hours on the phone – and possibly hundreds of dollars in foreign call fees – trying to sort out all your issues when you could be out having fun.
• No one will be able to hack into your computer and find all the info they can use to steal your identity and make you super sad when you get home, or possibly even before then. It wouldn’t be awesome to find out that none of your credit cards work and you have no money to finish your trip or get home.
• You can use unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots without fear, because you never realize how much you rely on free internet while you’re out in the world, especially when you travel and need to find directions and such. 
• Less annoying than a stolen identity, but just as irritating and time consuming is having someone access all your passwords to your accounts and having to change them all…again. I bet I’m not the only one who yells at their computer when they see one of those “Please change your X password” emails. 

Be Able to Connect to All Your Accounts

Have you ever gone somewhere and tried to log into a site you use all the time only to be told that no, you can’t, because you aren’t in your home country? I have, and it sucks. Freedome works as a VPN (virtual personal network), so you can trick the internet into thinking you’re anywhere in the world. While this isn’t really something that can ruin your trip, it helps to have the option to use said websites, especially if you’re in a country that blocks normal things, too, like Facebook.

• Access your Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services wherever you are. I’m not always outside of my hotel doing things. Sometimes I like to relax. Maybe eat in my room and do some laundry. There’s nothing better than catching up on a movie or show when I have the time. 
• Be able to watch streaming TV on the channel site. Once when I was in Nassau, we were stuck inside due to a hurricane warning, so we were tired of watching the news and playing Gameboy. We attempted to get online to watch some CBS shows we had missed while we were away and were blocked. Bummer. With Freedome, I can set my location to the U.S. and watch whatever I want that’s available online. On the other hand, I can set my location to other countries and watch shows I liked when I was there.
• Maybe your kids like to play games online or have a show they can’t live without that you stream and haven’t downloaded. Well, prevent a breakdown when they are cranky and just want something they are used to by using the VPN function of Freedome. 

Imagine how much grief F-Secure Freedome can save you in your everyday life and on your travels. I know that my security is more important to me than saving a few bucks a month. In fact, Freedome is only 29.90€ for a year, which comes out to less than $2.80/month. But don’t just take my word for how good Freedome is. Take my challenge and try it for yourself for free:

Use Freedome for 90 days by using code qsf257

Make sure your devices are safe wherever you are and head off those snags that can happen before they do, because there are some things you can control.

Disclaimer: As a brand ambassador for F-Secure, I am being compensated for my time, however I fully support this company and product.