rk911
Wheaton IL
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Joined: 05/30/2004
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renojack wrote:I understand that public Wi-Fi should not be used for banking. Is there any circumstance when a Wi-Fi can be used for transactions (on the road) short of your home encrypted broadband??
Thanks for any explanation.
public *computers* such as those in libraries and coffee shops should never be used for sensitive transactions such as banking. publicly accessed computers may be infected with keystroke loggers. but public *wifi* with your computer is safe as long as the website itself is secure. you can tell by looking for HTTPS:// and for the padlock symbol (or something similar depending on your browser). one caution...the *login* page for your bank, brokerage or invesment house...any website that will carry the sensitive transactions...the login page itself also needs to be secure.
73,
rich, n9dko
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Mountain Mama
N. TX
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Joined: 03/28/2008
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garym114 wrote:Dennis M M wrote:In spite of using a secure website it is my understanding that an public WiFi connection is far from secure.
You could be referring to the network security on public WiFi which is not the same thing. When using public WiFi, File and Printer Sharing on your connected device should be turned off and your firewall should be turned on. This secures your files from others on the network. This is not the same as what passes over the wireless connection web communication.
Ok, I'm going to show my ignorance here. How do you turn off the file & printer sharing?
2003 Holiday Rambler Alumascape 34RLT
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VE3ESN
Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 03/08/2002
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Mountain Mama wrote:garym114 wrote:Dennis M M wrote:In spite of using a secure website it is my understanding that an public WiFi connection is far from secure.
You could be referring to the network security on public WiFi which is not the same thing. When using public WiFi, File and Printer Sharing on your connected device should be turned off and your firewall should be turned on. This secures your files from others on the network. This is not the same as what passes over the wireless connection web communication.
Ok, I'm going to show my ignorance here. How do you turn off the file & printer sharing?
If you use Windows XP (as we still do), HERE is how to do it.
Jerry & Susie
1996 Roadtrek 190 Versatile (Dodge 5.2 L)
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Robin1953
Ashton, WV
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Joined: 04/21/2002
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renojack wrote:I understand that public Wi-Fi should not be used for banking. Is there any circumstance when a Wi-Fi can be used for transactions (on the road) short of your home encrypted broadband??
Thanks for any explanation.
I am assuming that you are referring to an "open" WiFi network that is one that no password is required to join the network.
I think you need to understand that "secured" networks and "secured" data packets are not one and the same. As others are saying if you are attached to a site that has a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection, as evidenced by "httpS://", the data packets that are being transmitted from your computer to the end web site are encrypted or scrambled with 128 bit or more data encryption. This scrambling of the data packets is generally referred to as a "secure" data transfer. The data packets are scrambled on your computer and sent via your WiFi transmitter over the "open" network to the local access point where the scrambled data packets are handed off to the hard wired Internet connections until they are received by the end web site where they are un-encrypted or unscrambled if you will and used for whatever purposes by the end website.
The data encryption scheme can be more or less than 128 bit but for discussion purposes that is a moot point.
Now you can have a "secure" network running within an "open" network if you have a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This can be accomplished either by software or by hardware. In essence what you are doing is running a "closed" or "secured" tunnel a.k.a. virtual network within the "open" network. The VPN basically allows your encrypted data to run within an encrypted pathway to the other end if SSL is being used.
Just because you need to enter a password to get on a public network does not mean your data is "secured". It doesn't even mean that that the network is "secured" It simply means that you have to have a password a.k.a a key to join the network. You still need to make sure that your data packets are encrypted or scrambled.
So if you are really paranoid and afraid of the man in the middle attacks as mentioned by another poster, which are much more scary than denial of service attacks in my opinion, then you need to learn how to use the tools out there to secure your data; secure your computer; only use trusted sites; use all the tools for malware/viruii/etc. to stop the bad guys.
Robin Brumfield
2004 Ford F350 PSD XC
2012 Jayco Eagle SuperLite 31.5RLTS
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Davydd
Minnesota
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In this day and age with the proliferation of video camera phones it might be a good idea to be aware of your surroundings when using your computer in a public place. Your passwords could be easily picked up by someone over your shoulder just by videoing your keystrokes despite the dot dot dots on your screen. I think that would be a bigger concern than the public wifi connection.
Davydd
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter B Camper Van
Davydd is the Welsh spelling for David with an English twist using a v instead of an f.
See Our 2011 Great West Van Sprinter Legend and my pork tenderloin sandwiches
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Robin1953
Ashton, WV
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Davydd wrote:In this day and age with the proliferation of video camera phones it might be a good idea to be aware of your surroundings when using your computer in a public place. Your passwords could be easily picked up by someone over your shoulder just by videoing your keystrokes despite the dot dot dots on your screen. I think that would be a bigger concern than the public wifi connection.
That is why I use RoboForm.
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DD716TED
Washington State
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Joined: 10/27/2003
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What about using an Android Tablet with wifi? How can you tell the Https:/ when you can't see the address of the sight being connected to? Any information would be appreciated as it is much easier to take my Android Tab into a McDonalds for coffee that it is to take my Windows laptop.
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1492
No. Virginia
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Joined: 04/08/2005
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DD716TED wrote:What about using an Android Tablet with wifi? How can you tell the Https:/ when you can't see the address of the sight being connected to?
Just touch scroll up until you see the URL address in the browser.
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magicbus
LBI, NJ or Nantucket, MA
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Joined: 06/16/2002
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Click Here for a good article on banking while on the road. Note his mention of stealing your bank ID and password from a public wifi involves his own router and a phoney look-a-like site.
Dave
Our new RV... the adventure continues.
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