Author Topic: Slow traveling and banking  (Read 3318 times)

GillyMack

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Slow traveling and banking
« on: September 04, 2017, 03:23:59 PM »
DH has offered a temporary job overseas lasting a few months.  Happy, happy, happy!  I'm planning on going with him for a good part of the time.  And hopefully we can wander around that part of the world before coming home.  Normally when I travel, I pay my bills ahead of time (that aren't already on automatic) and try to avoid logging onto any of my banking websites because I'm a wee bit paranoid. 

But we're going to be gone too long for that to work.  I'm bringing my laptop and my android phone.  Wifi comes with the apartment that we'll be living in, but I don't know who set it up. 

What do the admirable MMM slow travelers do?  What do you do for a secure connection for managing your stache? 

Sitting here at home I just installed my work-a-day bank's App on my phone and I'm all creeped out.   Worried thoughts....There's the famous bank icon right there.  Suppose I lose my phone.  The badguy will know which bank I'm with and.... 

 

Syonyk

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2017, 07:50:52 PM »
Lock your phone?

GillyMack

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2017, 09:43:14 PM »
The phone is locked with a basic swipe pattern, but I could certainly add something more complicated and a PIN or something.  I hadn't thought of that.  Guess I assumed a nefarious thief could break into the phone easily.  I could make it harder. In the past, my phone has had minimal things installed on it.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2017, 09:50:47 PM »
Any bank worth anything will require your password/touch ID before logging you into their application.

Lock your phone, encrypt your phone if not already done, and don't worry about it.

GillyMack

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2017, 09:07:33 PM »
Thank you, Paul. I am ignorant about these things and truly didn't know that encrypting a phone is easy enough for a non-expert to do. Been researching on the web and though my model's menus don't exactly match the general instructions, I'll figure it out.  That already makes me feel better in the case of losing the phone. 

From lurking elsewhere on this forum I'd already been inspired to learn how encrypt a partition on my laptop to store some sensitive files. I love this forum. Lots of knowledge and helpful people.

Now one more question.  if one was going to logon to a banking site and if the available wifi was of unknown origin, would it be more secure to use cellphone data connection (crying mustachian tears at using international data)?

Paul der Krake

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2017, 09:12:36 PM »
Yes. You should make a habit of connecting to sensitive sites from known networks.

Syonyk

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2017, 10:00:13 PM »
It would be more secure to use the cell data connection.

A cheaper option is to get an account on a halfway decent VPN provider (I provide my own VPN services so don't have any suggestions).  That lets your laptop tunnel securely to a halfway trusted point, and avoids attacks from the local network.  At that point, I would absolutely do banking from a random coffee shop network - if my device can establish a proper connection to the remote VPN endpoint without warnings, I know my connection is secure.

GillyMack

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #7 on: September 06, 2017, 08:39:23 AM »
Thanks, Syonyk.  I've used VPNs for work at times, but I thought they were a fancy internal corporate thing. Didn't know I could subscribe to one.  This sounds like a really interesting improvement. Will research what's out there.  I'd rather use my laptop anyway and this would allow me to do that.

Aggie1999

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #8 on: September 06, 2017, 09:00:33 AM »
Any banking website, etc will use HTTPS. "S" stands for SSL which is just as secure as a VPN connection. No need to worry no matter the WIFI you are on.

Syonyk

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Re: Slow traveling and banking
« Reply #9 on: September 06, 2017, 10:04:02 AM »
Any banking website, etc will use HTTPS. "S" stands for SSL which is just as secure as a VPN connection. No need to worry no matter the WIFI you are on.

That... depends.  If the website and browser don't have an HSTS agreement in place, you can usually drop someone's connection to HTTP and meddle with things.  Plus, a VPN protects DNS traffic from the local malicious wifi.