How To Prepare For An International Trip

With all of the mayhem in the news lately, people are concerned about international travel, rightly so. We've crafted a list of things that people should have handy in preparing for their trip to ensure it's as safe and hassle free as possible. Unfortunately, we can't guarantee a terror attach, but knowing what to do should you find yourself in the middle of the action could mean the difference between life or death.

• Pack what's important - We all tend to overpack, mainly because we do it the night before we're set to leave. At that point, it's easy to forget something critical and to pack unnecesary items that can both weigh you down and take up valuable space. You'll want to remember the following items:
  • Write down your emergency contacts and their contact information
  • Make copies of the front and back of your credit cards and your signed passport page; leave a copy at home and take a copy with you.
  • Keep these copies with you inside of your carry on luggage and keep it with you at all times.
  • Take at least two weeks worth of medication..
• Make a plan - Discuss what you'll do in case of an attack with your traveling companions; in the event of a disturbance, where will you meet, how will you get there, etc. It's a good idea to take a simple one-page map of the area you'll be traveling with you in case your mobile device loses power or the internet goes down.
  • Prior to travel, register with the U.S. State Department's STEP Program.
  • While traveling, memorize your hotel's emergency exits and what the most evacuation route from your hotel room to the outside is and be prepared to retrace this route with limited visibility.
  • Once overseas, register with the nearest embassy and record their contact information and that of the nearest consulate if applicable.
• Carry backup cash - Cash is king and when on foot and if the internet goes down, it can help you get something to eat and a few bottles of water. Credit cards don't always work and there's nothing that will make you feel helpless than not having purchasing power.
• Avoid high-target areas - Avoid crowded areas at busy times of the day. Major sporting events, festivals and rally's are soft targets that a terrorist may find appealing.
• Try not to stand out - Instead of being the "ugly American" practice blending in by wearing muted colors, khaki pants, dark socks and leather shoes. Nothing stands out internationally more than an American wearing shorts, athletic shoes and white socks.
• Use your tools - Utilize the Virtual Halo app and communicate to your emergency contacts what your plan is in case of an emergency. Remember - SOS and Check In mode are your friends.

What To Do When Traveling Abroad During an Attack

Conde Nast published a great article on what to do when traveling abroad during an attack. In the wake of Charlie Hebdo, the Boston Marathon bombings, additional attacks in Paris, the foiled attacks in Munich and now the tragedy in Brussels, the thought that you might be present for an attack has sadly become a reality.

It's time to stop thinking "that won't happen to me." It can. Hopefully it won't, but you should prepare for it nonetheless. If you are present during an attack, or even in a city where an attack takes place, you need to know what to do. Below is a quick "cheat sheet" on resources to utilize when traveling abroad:

• Prior to Travel:
  • Add the international roaming option to your mobile phone. Over the past year, each of the major cell phone companies, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, have lowered the cost and increased the capabilities of their international plans.
  • Make a list of phone numbers and email addresses that you can access if your mobile device runs out of power. Internet cafe's and hotel business centers are great places to shoot messages off to loved ones.
  • Visit the U.S. State Department's Alerts and Warnings Website - this resources will give you information about where you're going and what to be cognizant of.
• While Abroad:
  • Register your international travels with the U.S. State Department's STEP Program (State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.
  • Log into Facebook and mark yourself as "safe" with their Safety Check tool (they know where you are based on your phone's GPS functionality).
  • Use the Virtual Halo app to let your emergency contacts know that you're safe

How Important is Encryption on Mobile Phones?

Every day for the last several weeks, Apple has been in the news. For it's new iPhone or Apple Watch wristbands? Yes, but not for the reason I'm referring to... because of their ongoing battle with the FBI over iPhone encryption. Got a question for you - before this publicity, when was the last time you thought about the encryption on your device?

Like many first-adopters, you probably have a Kindle, possible an Android device, an old iPod laying around, and certainly an iPad and your iPhone. I'll admit that I haven't given it much thought. Passwords, yes. Logging out of publicly accessible equipment, yes. But the hardware and software that I pay for, that I trust to contain my digital life? Not really. Did you pick up on the key word earlier? Trust.

Throughout this ordeal, Apple has showed their supporters that they have their backs. It's important to follow the law, I completely agree. But, they're not going to unlawfully provide access to a clients data without the readily available tools to do so. What I've found so odd throughout the timeline this has been happening is how little security and encryption is encoded into the other technologies on the market.

On Tuesday, March 15, 2016, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article entitled "Google Faces Challenges in Encrypting Android Phones." Turns out, the reason it's such a problem is that very few Android phones are encrypted. One of the drawbacks of an open ecosystem is sluggishness when the hardware and software don't work together harmoniously. Since there are so many manufacturers that utilize the Android operating system and it's designed to work on a wide variety of hardware platforms, the handset makers have resisted adding encryption to their devices because it can hurt the phone's over all performance.

Almost all of us buy from Amazon, and we know our transactions are safe and secure with them due to their world-class encryption, so that should be the same with their devices, I would think. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Shockingly, the Amazon Fire OSn5 has no encryption built into its software.

One of the most common questions we get asked is "when will Virtual Halo be built for Android?" That's a good question and we're interested in doing so, but we want to make sure we've built out our tech on a single platform first. Also, for us, it's very important that our tech is secure. Part of the point of Virtual Halo is that no one is watching you through our service. It doesn't actively report a user's location - only when events occur such as an SOS, a Check In, or when a user doesn't cancel a "Going Out" notification. We don't like big brother, and we're building our app to give our users the peace of mind that comes with our notifications. As Android matures, and adds encryption, we will look at that platform in earnest. It's a great software, and a lot of Android users have said that they're interested in Virtual Halo. For us, all in due time. But, safety, security, and privacy always come first.

What's a good App icon look like?

It's a hard question; one in which I'm working on right now. One has to consider how they want their app to look. Does it resemble the company as a whole, or is it merely a product of the company? Should it connotate fun, or professionalism? Should it be descriptive or oblique? It's tough to decide when the canvas starts white, with a world of possibilities from which to choose from. From a user experience standpoint, it's a really important decision. It sets the tone.

In the life of a startup, there are a lot of decisions that need to be made; some big and some small, but the icon of your flagship product needs to hit the mark. It tells a story. Even though the adage says to not judge a book by its cover, we all do. If the icon isn't compelling, what else will a person use to make the determination that they want the app?

This is the point I'm at. Right now, I'm leaning towards this type of a look. What do you think? What kind of emotions or thoughts does it evoke in you? Does it show what you think Virtual Halo is as a company? Yes, the icon can be changed in the future, but we're really trying hard so that we won't have to do that.

The question I now ask: "Does this icon set the tone for an app dedicated to personal safety?"

Comments are great, please leave them below. We take all of the feedback given to try to give our customers what they want. Thanks!