Is it safe to access bank account with my roaming dongle

[anjou2]

I use the Win 7 Security on my lap-top and do all banking with my traditional home provider. Am I safe to do my banking on my 3 dongle whilst out and about.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Well anjou I am not aware how good that security you have is so I cannot comment. Personally I use Kaspersky which has a safe money function / feature and I use it with no hesitation.

But the choice is yours I would suggest you look at Kaspersky and see if what it costs per day is worth your peace of mind. Mine costs me $0.13 per day to run.

I fixed up my brothers on a recent trip back and he has no problems with it at all. They do also run special offers too so thee are tie s when you can pick the suite up with an extra years licence but as I said the choice is yours and how much your money means to you.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

It depends on your bank's software and your security programs. As long as your computer is properly secured, if your bank uses a https connection and the software doesn't use Java, it should be safe.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Well the security you have on that machine my friend is not known to me an just having a quick scout round I would be using something a a little more heavy weight than it.

But the choice is yours as for the banks security it might be ok but you are using wireless and and that is in my mind at least dodgy unless you use something like the program I suggested which is basically a sandbox type feature.

 

[anjou2]

OK, so are we saying that, because it is a wireless connection, the 3 Dongle is not as secure as my Entanet connection at home ?

 

[ICIT2LOL]

OK, so are we saying that, because it is a wireless connection, the 3 Dongle is not as secure as my Entanet connection at home ?

No anjou I am simply saying I do not know how good that security you have is and that you are using a wireless connection so whatever you are sending to and receiving from the bank via that venue is liable to be intercepted in the interim by other devices - for example another computer while the data goes back and forth.

Take for example the TV the signal is broadcast from the TV company via a high frequency signal and then is decoded at the TV and is turned into what you watch. Now that is just you and it is also available to many others who watch what you do as it is freely "seen" by other TV sets.
So you are really relying on the security program to make sure that the data is safe from view while it is sent from your machine to the bank and back again.
My security uses a form of "encasing" the data while I am on the line to my bank therefore I know it is safe whether I do banking on a cable or wireless connection .
.

 

[anjou2]

Thanks for a most illustrative and informative reply, I will keep away from the wire-less option and investigate Kaspersky

 

[whs]

I never do any on-line banking because I do not think that it is safe - at least not with Windows. If you have to do on-line banking, use a Linux distro from a virtual partition. Example:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/288105-safe-internet-browsing.html

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

If one has the proper security software, including an outbound firewall, and one's bank uses secure software (including no Java) and connections (https) on known networks (generally, that doesn't include public networks), online banking is perfectly safe. Your financial data is already subject to hacking of your bank, credit/debit card clearing houses, vendors, etc. which often are less secure than you can make your own data and connections. As long as you have a credit/data card (you don't even have to use it) or even just a banking account, your financial data (and money) is already vulnerable and no amount of paranoia on your part is going to completely protect it.

 

[Borg 386]

I try not to do banking online unless it's a necessity. If I can get something done over the phone, then I choose that option. My thought is, why take a chance when you can accomplish what you need with a phone call.

Same with ordering something online, I prefer to contact them by phone & place the order that way.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

In use PayPal whenever I can when ordering online. I have a separate debit card I use for all online purchases (my credit union protects debit cards just like credit cards; the difference is I can easily control how much can be taken out by limiting the balance), including through PayPal, so, if something went pear shaped, my losses would be minimized. I won't buy from dodgy sites, even if using PayPal, but I'm just as safe buying from reputable vendors online as I am from local vendors in person; actually more so since I don't use the internet only card when buying locally and the card I use has more money in it.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks for a most illustrative and informative reply, I will keep away from the wire-less option and investigate Kaspersky

Please do anjou and if you are interested I can always help out with the config. Despite what has been said by anyone including myself it remains and always will on how one uses the net as no security system is totally safe and I should add that the safe money I mentioned in the Kaspersky suite is probably no exception but in my mind a whole lot safer than most other security softwares.

Just this morning I read and posted that MSE is going pear shaped and that even Linux is becoming increasingly more vulnerable plus the worries that there is an increase in the incidence of hardware / firmware being infected so whatever way you look at it you just need to be careful and if you have to bank on line like some of us in rural areas need to do keep it to a minimum.