Summer Travel Smarts

(Family Features) The kids are out of school and you’ve been stockpiling your vacation time for months. It’s prime time to hit the road (or skies) for a well-deserved getaway. But before you dust off that suitcase, take some time to assess the protection of one of your most valuable travel tools — your smartphone.

Your personal travel guide

A recent survey conducted by Asurion, the recognized industry leader in technology protection, found that 77 percent of travelers say their phone is either “very” or “extremely” important to have while traveling. In fact, 46 percent of those surveyed revealed they use their mobile phone to research vacation information, such as destinations and deals. Other popular uses include booking transportation tickets, making dining reservations and using special travel-related apps downloaded to their phone.

Protecting your phone

It’s easy to see that smartphones are critical for summer travel. Since nothing ruins a vacation like a lost, stolen or damaged cellphone, be sure to consider these tips before heading out:

• Use a good screen protector and invest in a quality cover or case. This is an easy and inexpensive way to prevent scratching, cracks and other external damage.

• Invest in mobile protection for your phone with a company such as Asurion, which provides a complete suite of technology protection products to safeguard your family from the disaster of a lost, stolen or damaged cellphone.

• Plug the phone charger into a power surge protector.

• Password-protect your phone. In the event it is lost or stolen, it will be your first line of defense against identity theft.

• Install an anti-theft application on your child’s device to locate or lock it and wipe data.

Dangerous locations

Protecting your phone also includes keeping it from thieves. When Asurion asked smartphone users where they experienced the theft of their device, the most common settings were locations that you might find yourself while on vacation, including:

• Restaurant or bar

• Street or sidewalk

• Store or mall

• Parking lot

• Public transportation

Tips to prevent phone theft

There are several steps you can take to reduce the risk of smartphone theft, including the following:

• Keep the phone in a pocket or purse where it will be out of site.

• Use a Bluetooth device to be able to keep the phone safely tucked away.

• Use headphones when listening to music.

• Password-protect the phone.

• Be aware of surroundings when in public. Focusing on texting, email, social media or any other mobile application puts users at risk.

• Have an application that will remotely lock the smartphone and wipe the data if necessary.

• Don’t set a smartphone out on a table.

For more on how to enhance your summer travels, visit www.Asurion.com.