for Travelers

We all do it, we juice up the batteries on our devices- the night before or the morning of our travels. By the time we get to the airport, our mobile devices are at 50-60% already. Fortunately, we see all of these free charging stations with USB connectors and we think,

Unfortunately, juicing up your electronic device at free USB port charging stations in airports and hotel lobbies, might have consequences. You could become a victim of "juice jacking," yet another cyber-theft tactic.

Cybersecurity experts warn that some folks can load malware onto public USB charging stations to access your electronic devices while “charging”. Malware installed through a corrupted USB port can lock a device or export personal data and passwords directly to the perpetrator. Criminals can then use that information to access online accounts or sell it to other mal folks.

The FCC has warned us about this years ago but left it up to us to worry about it… or not. But now the FBI is warning us of this cyber theft. Airports are now responsible to regularly check USB ports and charging stations and to report any and all suspicious activity too. Don’t fall victim to juice-jacking!

These cyber-thieves may also install extractable jump drives that may look like actual USB ports attached to charging stations. Some may even give you a free “USB charger” with malware to download your info and deets.

HOW DO YOU AVOID JUICE JACKING?

•Avoid using public USB charging stations. Use an AC power outlet instead.

•Bring AC, car chargers, and your own USB cables with you when traveling.

•Carry a portable charger or external battery.

•Consider carrying a charging-only cable, which prevents data from sending or receiving while charging, from a trusted supplier.

•If you plug your device into a USB port and a prompt appears asking you to select "share data" or “charge only,” always select “charge only.”

Public Wi-Fi networks are another way that cyber criminals target travelers

Many Wi-Fi users choose to use public networks instead of their own devices' data plans for accessing the internet remotely. But the ease and convenience of public Wi-Fi is risky. If you're not careful, hackers may quickly access your connection and compromise sensitive information stored on your device and in online accounts. Here are some travel tips.

•Check the validity of available Wi-Fi hotspots. If more than one hotspot appears claiming to belong to an establishment that you're in, check with the staff to avoid connecting to an imposter hotspot.

•Make sure all websites you exchange information with have "https" at the beginning of the web address. If so, your transmitted data will be encrypted.

•Adjust your smartphone's settings so it does not automatically connect to nearby Wi-Fi networks. This gives you more control over where you connect.

•If you use public Wi-Fi hotspots on a regular basis, consider using a virtual private network, which will encrypt all transmissions between your device and the internet. Many companies offer VPNs to their employees for work purposes, and individuals may subscribe to VPNs on their own.

•When transmitting sensitive information, using your cellphone data plans.

It’s Seafood Boil Season!

Although there is no wrong time to eat a great medley of seafoods, most folks get that party started in May. The fish mongers start putting out their fresh shellfish out on sale and the Spring weather seems to cry out for seafood boils.

You can even have Seafood Broils where you broil your seafoods instead of boiling them in a delicious stock. You can even mix in some saffron rice and make a Spanish paella dish. If you use a gravy (marinara sauce) then you can make The 7 Fishes, a traditional dish served over pasta or bread in Sicily and Italy served during the High Holy Holidays.

Now all those dishes mentioned above are best made cooking your seafood ingredients with the rice or with gravy/sauce served over bread or pasta. It gives those other starch ingredients lots of seafood flavor. I particularly do not enjoy that as much as most people- especially my extended families. That’s why I like my seafood boil. I drain the stock from the seafood (use the seafood stock for other dishes) and enjoy my seafood boil simply and plainly.

My Seafood Boil recipe…

Is really the easiest thing to put together. It’s just starting with a great stock and the timing of dropping ingredients into the stock. Some ingredients cook faster than others and raw / fully cooked ingredients also have their timing off so you have to properly plan.

Here are my ingredients (but use what YOU like): : mini lobster claws, crabs, shrimp, black mussels, chorizo, mini potatoes, corn on the cob, onions, lemon, lime, orange and lots of garlic, herbs and red pepper flakes. I also use my homemade chicken stock but a great store-bought will do nicely too. I no longer use “butter” but it was part of my original recipe. Nowadays, I add some edamame for a surprise new twist to my Seafood Boil. Here’s a full video tutorial of my Incredible Seafood Boil.