Online Banking

[anewbiewannabe]

I do my banking online with a password protected wireless connection right now. I'm wondering, for those on the road who don't have their own wi-fi yet or choose not to have it, whether they do anything specific to protect their online banking?

I don't know what kind of setup I'll have to begin with so one of the things I thought about was libraries. In my town I can get a 1 hour pass to the library computer without having a library card if I need to print something or if for some reason I can't get online at home I can run up and pay my bills from those computers. I've never used the wi-fi at McD's for it because it's easier to use the library computers than to haul mine up there.

I'm not terribly internet savvy so don't know whether the risks are large to use public wi-fi for banking purposes. So, if your own wi-fi was down or you don't have it, how would you or do you do your online banking? Has anybody used any libraries out in UT/AZ/NV/CO/CA areas for this purpose?

Thanks!

 

[MikeRuth]

I personally don't have a problem using a public connection for a financial institution.
Your connection to them is in a secure encrypted format. If you do use a public connection look around you, do you see anyone using a laptop that you'd consider suspicious?
If so then don't do it, but then again how long does your session need to be? In my case All I'd be doing is checking a balance , making a transfer or just taking a peek at the recent activity and the disconnecting. Not on long enough for any kind of bad guy to have a chance to do anything.

Mike

 

[ccbreder]

Be sure to have all your protections up to date and don't let your computer store passwords. Be sure to click "Log Off" when you finish. My Ally bank has a setting that requires me to receive a pass number by my cell phone text each time I log in.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Well, I know I'm doing at least one thing right already. I never save my passwords on my computer. Not to say that hasn't caused a few headaches over time when I've forgotten a password or changed it and somehow gotten locked out---I lost my very first ever email account after about 15 years because of something like that. Sometimes I wonder if there's not a gremlin in the machine messing with me. LOL

I used to have a young friend out west that I could call if I somehow got the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH and he would guide me through scrubbing it up and starting over with factory settings, but I've lost touch with him since he went to grad school. Miraculously I've been able to somehow go in behind whatever maliciousness was there to retrieve precious photos every time---even with the last computer that I wasn't able to rebuild. I have no clue how I managed to do it because after so much trial and effort it was hard to remember which was which and it didn't make sense that I got in at all. LOL I do keep important stuff backed up on an external hard drive and I learned that it's best for me to use electronic equipment at least every several months or it may go "pop" when plugged back in again. I haven't gotten comfortable with the idea of Cloud storage yet.

Anyhow, I'm on an old 2nd hand computer again and I have no idea when/if I'll get another when this one goes out so, other than the security stuff, I'm wondering about the libraries for times where I have no computer? *knocking on wood that it's never for very long* It's a reality I have to face, that computers eventually stop working, and the money may not be there for another one. If I'm in a position to set up automatic payments then that would definitely be the way to go, but I don't know that I'll be in that position.

Ccbreder, Ally is one of those online banks isn't it? I've got a bank account old enough that it started as a 4 digit account number, so I haven't really looked into online banks yet. I always wondered if someone needed cash from an online bank are there ATMs for that and do they charge an ATM fee? Also wondered how on earth people would deposit cash into an online bank account?

Thanks!

 

[Wabbit]

...Your connection to them is in a secure encrypted format. If you do use a public connection look around you, do you see anyone using a laptop that you'd consider suspicious?
If so then don't do it, but then again how long does your session need to be? In my case All I'd be doing is checking a balance , making a transfer or just taking a peek at the recent activity and the disconnecting. Not on long enough for any kind of bad guy to have a chance to do anything...

Most if not it all the information you send out over WiFi is sent in clear text. That means anyone with the knowledge or tools could be intercepting your information. It is not a difficult thing to do, and anyone with a free day or two could find the how to and the tools online. As to looking around to see if you see anyone suspicious, back in the day it was called "war driving", you stayed in your vehicle cruising neighborhoods. The information you send travels a lot further than some might imagine. Read some articles online on how to stay as safe as can be expected in this day and age, and use common sense with what networks you log onto. There are open networks out there specifically for the purpose of getting you to log onto them. Using a library connection is safer than an anonymous connection called "We promise not to hack you". Also make sure your security software programs are always kept updated. I use open networks all the time and rarely see anything odd.

I meant to add that although your bank connection is encrypted, the usernames and passwords used online are mostly sent in clear text.

 

[SoulRaven]

I'm mainly a city dweller, and do all my banking inside a branch office.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

The library in my small town has regular PCs that appear to be connected by cable so I don't think there'd be any concern about wi-fi there. I guess I'm partially wondering if at least some of the libraries out west in the usual winter camping areas have their own computers or if it's a bring your own situation? I'm guessing that at least the libraries in bigger towns and cities would have computers.

I still haven't figured out how I got the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH on my last computer because all my security was up to date on that one at the time. *sigh* Oh wait, I remember now, a friend sent out an email she received about some safety thing that was a bogus email with a new trojan in it and I opened it before she sent the email warning not to open it. That one got to the point where it didn't even recognize that it had a C drive---turned into a blooming idiot.

Well, I don't think I'll be able to use branch offices as I don't think my bank is national. As it stands now to go to a branch I have to drive 30 miles to another town. So, that's one reason I'm curious about online banking, though I'll probably still keep my old account too.

 

[Almost There]

Check out which of association(s) your bank is a member of. Most all of the banks these days belong to either Cirrus or Interac. It should be on the logos on the back of your bank card.

As a Canadian I had to figure out how to bank stateside for 6 months at a time. Yes, I can do my online banking (pay bills, move money around etc) from my laptop but I needed to be able to get at cash as I travel. I don't like using my credit cards in the states because they both charge higher exchange rates than the bank does. It turns out that one bank is associated with Cirrus, the other with Interac. As long as a ATM uses one or the other I'll be able to get cash with no fee from either.

That and I'll be able to use cash back at most major big box stores as long as they are part of either of the two networks.

 

[LeeRevell]

I don't know about other CC companies, but Capital One has online banking. I don't use that option, as I like my local bank, and have been with them a long time. Were I traveling, I might use CapOne's banking option.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm about to retire from a state agency in NY where I've been a Lan Admin for the last twenty years.

I would not trust public wifi for ANY sensitive financial information, whether online banking, Paypal, or even buying stuff from Amazon.  Security on such an open network is non-existant.

Nor should you trust wired public computers.  Somebody could have planted keystroke logging software on it.

Get yourself an Iphone or an Android smartphone.  Or put a WAN with sim card in your laptop.  A connection over the cell towers is still secure and uncrackable.

Regards
John

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Get yourself an Iphone or an Android smartphone.  Or put a WAN with sim card in your laptop.  A connection over the cell towers is still secure and uncrackable.

John, I really appreciate your input. I'm aware of the keystroke logging and other spyware as I've had it used on me in my own home. Out of all the bad options, do you think the public library would be the least risky, unless I found someone I could trust that would trust me to temporarily use their wifi each month to pay my bills? It would be nice to just go out and get some phone or wifi of my own but that's making the assumption that I have the money to do that or money to have a WAN put into a laptop if I have a working one at the time. I know there are phones with limited data plans that could provide for the added security but every penny I can save means another moment of freedom. In a somewhat perfect world I'd just have all my payments set up as automatic, but I don't live anywhere close to that world.

The only offline banking I do right now is deposits because I'd rather drive them to the branch so I know when they will clear---just to clear that up for others. I don't have a debit card at this point, if that's what they use for ATMs. There's lots more to figure out, but figuring out how to somewhat safely get my bills paid while I'm on the road is at the top of the list in this area.

Thanks!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Any wired connection is going to be more secure than any public wifi.  I would guess that a public library would be less likely to be compromised than, say, an internet café, or something like that. 

I suppose if I HAD to use something like that, I'd research some good anti-malware programs, put em on a usb stick, and run em on the Library computer before using it for financial passwords.  (Sorry, can't recommend any, haven't researched that myself.)  I'd also reboot the computer before and after using it.

Lacking such a stick, I'd ask the library what kind of precautions they took and how often they ran such programs.  If the answer is not much, find another computer.

Regards
John

PS If you have your own laptop, maybe you could unplug the library machine and plug yours in for a couple of minutes.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Having thought about it a bit more, it's possible to put a complete operating system - Windows or Linux - on DVD or USB stick and make it bootable.  You could then reboot the Library computer to come up and run your known clean system instead of the one on the hard drive.

Regards
John

 

[Almost There]

Having thought about it a bit more, it's possible to put a complete operating system - Windows or Linux - on DVD or USB stick and make it bootable.  You could then reboot the Library computer to come up and run your known clean system instead of the one on the hard drive.

Regards
John

Ummm, you might run into problems with that - I know both of the two libraries near me will not allow you to plug anything into their computers. When I needed something off my computer printed (my printer had died) I had to email it to myself and then go to the library, open my email and print it from there. Not allowed to put it on a stick and plug it in down there.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Thanks for the additional thoughts John.  I don't know about any library but the one in my town and those computers don't have usb or dvd drives accessible.  They are classic PCs and the only things accessible are the monitors and the keyboards. They do have places for people to plug in their own as well so I'm guessing there is wireless as well. Each user is given a temporary password that is only good during their current session in order to log on to the library's computers---don't know if that makes a difference or not, but then when I really need the access I don't plan on being anywhere with snow on the ground like I've got right now so I won't be using that library.  Definitely going to ask questions next time I have time while I'm in town.

So sounds like asking questions on their computer security would be a good way to go.  If I manage to get a decent laptop I'm seriously considering switching over to the Linux operating system even though I don't know too much about it.  I found a website a while back (haven't looked at it for a while) that had pretty easy instructions and after reading there and elsewhere it sounds like linux is less likely to be targeted for viral attacks than windows and might be easier for me than some of the newer windows systems, but I'll deal with that when the time comes since everything could change by then.

Thanks again!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Right.  I've never used a computer at a library, so I hadn't thought about how limited they would be.

The upside is, if there is no CD/DVD drive or way to plug in a usb, It's less likely for someone to upload malware to it. Depending on how savvy & conscientious the library's tech geek is. 

Regards
John

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Almost There, I think that's what I had to do in order to get stuff printed---email it to myself so I could pull it from my email at the library.

I couldn't edit again to add on my last post---When I can afford a decent computer for myself I won't get one unless I can also afford my own wi-fi or hotspot or whatever they are called. Then, hopefully, other than printing stuff I would never have to concern myself with the library again except to check out books.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Assuming you're NOT at a library but have to borrow a machine with DVD, here's a pointer for you:

http://www.howtogeek.com/175234/how...r-usb-drive-to-ensure-your-computer-is-clean/

Regards
John

 

[akrvbob]

I try to avoid internet banking as much as possible. The reason most of us use online instead of local branches is there aren't any close and going to the bank is such a pain in the butt. But what if you could use your trips to Walmart as your bank?

One way to do that is to get a pre-paid Visa debit card from Walmart. You can put cash on it at Walmart (right at the check-stand at checkout) take cash out of it at Walmart, deposit checks at ATMs and use it almost everywhere. To get money from your checking account into it, you can use your bank debit card to transfer money from the bank to it by loading it at Walmart--right at the checkstand.

It won't eleminate your need for online banking, but it should greatly reduce it.
Bob

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Thanks Bob! I'm going to have to read that a few more times to really grasp it because the first time through it kinda buzzed right past my brain. I'm going to have to look at each part one at a time. It makes sense but either I'm tired or my brain went to bed before me. I know I really need to look at what bills I will realistically have at the time other than the daily living expenses. I'll have some extra bills at first since I have to maintain my residency but most of those bills are due during the time I'll be back in my home state.

I've really loved online banking for the past 15 or so years---especially when I could just pay every one of my bills directly from my bank account and thus it was a matter of a couple of minutes. I keep learning new things so I know I can learn a new way of banking. I think my biggest roadblock on the recurring but not always the same amount bills is that I get forgetful of what day of the month it is and then have to hurry up and get the bills paid. If I can get a system into place where I can make sure I don't tick my creditors off, like setting it up to pay bills a week early then I can make it more doable for myself. I had another form, not a bill, that I was just late filing because it's only filed once a year and I didn't get my paper copy in the mail---luckily they called and left me a message or that would have been an expensive forget on my part.

I'm going to look at this again when I've got a fresh eye. Right now I only go to walmart once every couple of months, but once I'm on the road and doing overnights at walmarts sometimes that could be a good fix for cutting back on my online banking needs.