Top 8 Ways to Protect Yourself

Personal safety and security is a vital concern for everyone, whether you're at home, work, or out in public. It's important to take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones from harm and minimize the risk of becoming a victim of crime. Here are some tips to help you improve your personal safety and security:

1. Be aware of your surroundings: One of the most important things you can do to stay safe is to pay attention to your surroundings. Avoid walking or jogging with headphones on, and stay alert when you're in public places. Look for potential dangers, like suspicious individuals or unlit areas, and take action to avoid them.

2. Use good lighting: Proper lighting can deter criminals and make it easier for you to see potential hazards. Make sure your home and workplace are well-lit, especially at night. If you're walking or jogging outside, stick to well-lit areas and carry a flashlight if necessary.

3. Lock doors and windows: Make sure all doors and windows are locked when you're at home, and use deadbolts if possible. If you're traveling, make sure your hotel room is secure by locking the door and using the peephole before opening it.

4. Use security systems: Consider installing a security system on your person and at your home or workplace. This can include Virtual Halo®, cameras, alarms, and motion detectors. These systems can provide an added layer of protection and can deter potential criminals, while letting your emergency contacts know there is an active emergency.

5. Be cautious with personal information: Be careful with your personal information, including your social security number, bank account information, and passwords. Only share this information with trusted individuals and use secure methods for online transactions.

6. Trust your instincts: If something doesn't feel right, trust your instincts and take action. Avoid potentially dangerous situations and seek help if necessary.

7. Learn self-defense: Consider taking a self-defense class to learn basic techniques for protecting yourself. This can give you more confidence and help you feel safer in potentially dangerous situations.

8. Always have Virtual Halo on your Apple Watch or iPhone and have it ready to send an alert if you get into a challenging situation to let your emergency contacts know where you are and that you’re in trouble.

Personal safety and security is an important concern for everyone. By being aware of your surroundings, using good lighting, locking doors and windows, using security systems, being cautious with personal information, trusting your instincts, and learning self-defense, you can improve your personal safety and minimize the risk of becoming a victim of crime.

SwypeSure Takes Safety Seriously

From time to time, we uncover websites or other resources that we think that our troupe of safety-conscious users would be interested in. Recently, we came across SwypeSure - a community of safety related products that educate and empower the safety of everyone, everywhere. They believe that when people are aware, they can live confidently, which we fully support and agree with.

As each of you know, we also take safety seriously. Have an idea of safety devices or an idea for a blog post that would be great on Virtual Halo’s safety blog? Leave a comment below so we can all learn from one another.

Top 25 Travel Tips for 2021

After traveling the globe for the past 23 years, I've learned a lot about personal safety when traveling - especially solo. Here are my top 25 safety tips for avoiding trouble on your trip:

1. Beware of scammers, pick-pockets and getting robbed.
2. Write down emergency contacts with phone numbers and email addresses.
3. Keep copies of your ID, credit cards and passport somewhere safe other than your wallet / purse.
4. Check the State Department website before you travel internationally.
5. Lock up your valuables.
6. Get travel evacuation insurance.
7. Be careful of not getting sick.
8. Don't drink un-bottled water.
9. Ask locals for advice.
10. Register with your embassy.
11. Email your itinerary to family or friends.
12. Don't share too much personal information with strangers, including where you're staying or your itinerary.
13. Don't do stupid things for photos.
14. Splurge on extra safety
15. Be aware of the cultural implecations of your clothing; try to blend in, not stand out.
16. Stay "tethered" to your bag.
17. Learn basic self-defense.
18. Be situationally aware.
19. Tell your bank and credit card companies where you'll be traveling.
20. Hide emergency cash - you will almost always need it.
21. Use ATM's wisely.
22. Stop using your back pocket.
23. Travel in numbers when possible.
24. Pack a first aid kit.
25. Trust your instincts!

Bonus for Women: The travel safety tips I've listed above are equally important for both men and women; I don't think the ability to travel safely has anything to do with gender.

Unfortunately, women are victims of violence everywhere, including here in North America. Women worried about beign assaulted or harrrasedmight prefer to visit a local street festival or market or nightclub in a grup rather than alone.

How To Turn Your iPhone & Apple Watch Into Intuitive Life Savers

What’s the one thing you always carry with you no matter where you go?

Your phone.

Basically like a mini computer, these handheld devices are used for more than just making phone calls. They can grant you access to the internet, send a message across the world in a matter of seconds, and now - they can be used to send an instant SOS.

Here’s how you can turn your Apple into an intuitive life saver:

Step One: Download the Virtual Halo App

Start by visiting the app store and searching for Virtual Halo, your new personal safety app for students, travelers, adventurers and anyone on the go. From there, download the app to your phone and Apple Watch. When you open the app for the first time, you will be prompted to sign in or create an account. Follow the on-screen instructions to get the app set up to where getting help is as simple as the push of a button.

Step Two: Stay Safe with Reactive and Pro-active Features

Once the app is set up, getting help is as easy as one-two- three. Within your account, you should have an emergency contact list. The app will send your SOS message along with your last known GPS coordinates whenever you send an alert for help. When you don’t need it, the app will still be running in the background (without granting anyone visibility to your location without your permission), so you can enjoy the thrill of adventure without worrying about Big Brother.

Step Three: Get Help When You Need It

With SOS, Check-in, Going Out and I’m OK features, you can go adventuring more comfortably knowing you have access to help when you need it. Virtual Halo has been designed with virtually everyone in mind, from children to traveling businessmen, and its features allow customization to work for everyone. Keep your emergency contacts in-the- know, or reserve the app for a quick SOS only when you need to. No matter how you use it, Virtual Halo turns your iPhone and Apple Watch into intuitive life savers.

Personal Security Is Changing It Up For Home Health Care Providers

Home health care providers offer a wide variety of home health services for both illnesses and injuries. These trained professionals carry a heavy responsibility to provide quality care to their patients, but travel carries inherent risks for them. Not only are they consistently traveling from place to place, either in a car, bus or other method of transportation, but they are also meeting multiple people throughout the day, many of which they may have never met before.

Here’s how personal security is changing it up for these home health care providers:

Taking Proactive Measures for Safety

Before they go out, home health care providers are now equipped with various types of safety measures to keep them safe while out on the job. Many of these are proactive, like the personal safety app Virtual Halo. These providers need to keep their phones on them at all times in case they are called to visit another patient unexpectedly or management needs to get in touch with them. By having Virtual Halo installed on this device, they have a personal safety net that works in the background without granting unpermitted access to their location or information. One of the app’s many features includes the ability to check in with a set of emergency contacts, such as their manager, throughout the day to let them know they’re okay, or send a message for help if they’re not.

Keeping Home Health Care Providers Safe

If the home health care provider feels uncomfortable, or that they may potentially be stepping into a dangerous situation at any time, they should have access to help when they need it. Personal security is keeping them safe by giving them access to more tools that enable them to avoid or escape these types of situations. Virtual Halo is just one of these many tools, which can also work reactively in the event of an emergency to request help when they need it by sending an instant SOS with their last known location to a list of preset emergency contacts. It’s making keeping home health care providers safe easier than ever before!