Couch surfing is to offer weary travelers a place to sleep for a night or two in your? home in exchange for hosting similar trip.
But "your house is my house" experience also comes with personal information and identity theft concerns, especially if you do not take appropriate steps to protect your property when travelers surf your sofa and vice versa
Here are a number of security measures to keep in mind when participating in the infatuation couch surfing
for couch Surfers: .. Check reviews and contact the owner
Staying in the home of someone else brings certain security threats and identity. If using a couch surfing service, be sure to read all comments about this accommodation. For owner of less than three positive reviews or for owners who are new to the service website couch surf, contact them directly if possible.
Like leave a couch surfer in your home, get to know your couch surfing host in advance can give you the peace of mind that your accommodations are safe and secure. Correspondence can also trigger red flags if something does not seem right with the host.
Do not use the owner's computer
Some couch surfing hosts allow you to use their computer at home during your stay. While this is a convenient feature, it is wise to avoid using someone else's computer if you intend to do anything but surf the web anything.
Checking your bank account information, access to your email, and doing anything that involves entering your password or financial information on a "public" computer poses a number of security risks which could easily lead to identity theft. This is especially the case if the owner uses cookies or automatic "remember me" password feature in their web browser.
Take your belongings with you
You never know who has access to the house you stay in during your vacation surfing couch, so it is wise to bring your personal belongings with you when you quit, including your computer. Leave your laptop in your couch surfing house could mean security and piracy threats that can quickly destroy your digital and personal life.
Even if you are just leaving the house for a few minutes, bringing your belongings to avoid the risk of theft. If it's your second or third night for accommodation and you feel safe and comfortable leaving some things behind while you are in the evening, do not make the mistake of letting your significant impacts to air.
Keep your passport and your wallet with you wherever you go is always a wise choice while traveling. If you must leave your electronics behind, make sure they are protected and hidden from view password
for the owners. Put a hold on your mail
On the back of the couch surfing room sofa invites surfers to stay in your home. If you open your doors Couch Surfing travelers, then using the maintenance by USPS mail service can help protect your identity by keeping your personal information out of reach of your houseguest.
Credit Card Offers and bank statements each piece of mail in between, your mail has a particular threat to your identity, especially if someone else is in your home for a short period. With the pending messaging service, e-mail carrier will hold your mail at the post office as long as you need, which is perfect if you leave the couch surfers stay in your home while you are away. After all, your letter says more about you than you might think.
Investing in a lockbox or Safe
If you go into your house any hiding place and shred all your personal documents does not sound very handy whenever you host a couch surfer, then a lockbox or safe can easily solve the security problem.
and safes are ideal PO boxes to keep your belongings safe, secure and out of sight. Similarly, if you still use paper records for all your personal information and finances, a lock file is another way to protect your identity when travelers are couch surfing in your home.
conduct additional research on the occupant
Take a deeper look into travelers couch surfing who will stay at home in future give you a better idea of whether your identity is at stake. If you use a surfing sofa company, which is highly recommended, and make sure the person you open your doors at least three positive reviews of the other members on the company's Web site.
Once the user passes the examination couch and test the rest of their profile meets your criteria, you should do more research. Start by looking at their social media profiles to make sure that what they say about themselves, such as their age, gender and hometown match their profile sofa surfing site. In addition, try to contact the user couch either by email or phone to get an idea of their personality before they appear on your doorstep.
Protect your wireless network
If you offer your sofa surfing customers access to Wi-Fi in your home, then you need to protect your network and block your guests from the resources you normally share through your router. One way to do this is to create a guest network that limit Wi-Fi access to folders and files that are typically available on your network.
There are a number of online tutorials that can show you exactly how to set up a guest network using your IP address. You can also protect your Wi-Fi network password with a unique password for your guests of the house can not share the Internet with people you have not authorized. As always, the best way to protect your identity online is to simply deny your visitors to access your wireless network.
Before opening your door to the wandering way of sofa surfers, make sure you keep in mind the security risks and precautions above. Also, if you couch you surf, remember to protect your belongings while in the houses of other people too.
Image via Flickr by DieselDemon
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