Internet or not?

If you are used to cable internet, you won't be happy with the much slower satellite connection.

Generally, a public network is fine with vpn software. I use purevpn.

Atom Ant wrote:

Me Again wrote:

greende wrote:
So far works well but we do not camp in the western part of the country where cell service is nonexistent.

Darn Indians keep taking down our cell tower every time Verizon installs a new one. Chris

hahahaha - I was thinking the same thing!

Usually I just t-tap the telegraph line running along the railroad tracks. :B

As soon as some people start moving to the western part of the Country, I feel we will see some of that there fancy Internet they have back east. lol

Me Again wrote:

greende wrote:
So far works well but we do not camp in the western part of the country where cell service is nonexistent.

Darn Indians keep taking down our cell tower every time Verizon installs a new one. Chris

hahahaha - I was thinking the same thing!

Usually I just t-tap the telegraph line running along the railroad tracks. :B

Me Again wrote:

greende wrote:
So far works well but we do not camp in the western part of the country where cell service is nonexistent.

Darn Indians keep taking down our cell tower every time Verizon installs a new one. Chris

More cell towers than smoke signals.

n7bsn wrote:
Some thoughts... yes httpS is encrypted (128 bit for the most part), and very safe. Not perfectly safe though!! It is possible for a "blackhat" computer, on the same local network (like the local wifi) to capture the handshakes that establish the encryption between your computer and your banks computer and thus have both "keys".
Mind you it's really unlikely.

Some number of campgrounds (10%, 15%, ??) we have stayed at have "private" wifi, where you need the passcode to access. The problem here is, everyone there, and everyone who has stayed there since the last time they changed the code, and everyone that got the code from some friends, have the passcode.
So the campgrounds with secure wifi systems are not really that much more secure then "open" wifi systems.

The Credit Union I bank with wouldn't care if some Bozo had both my account-name and password and tries to access my account with his computer as it would stop at the point and tell the Bozo to enter the ADDITIONAL passccode they just called my home-phone with. The only way to change the phone number they send the passcode to is to go into the bank.

As for banking, if you have a smartphone, check with your bank to see if they "have an ap", both my credit union (personal) and commercial bank have secure "APs" for Android and I-OS.

because they give you a passcode and not some 26 digit number they are using WPA security. everyone gets the same initial key, but the algorithm for the connection key is protected and each connection gets the next key differently. the odds of having the same next key are astronomical, and the key constantly changes, unlike the old WEP approach. so you WANT them to give you the initial passcode.

also, snooping the initial key exchange (if possible) will get you not a lot, depending on the router setting, the key will change every 1 to 20 minutes usually.
(different one for each client device connection)

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Almost every payment transaction on the internet is secure. Fear of someone stealing your identity because you are hooked up to a wifi network is paranoia and not rational. Security on the internet has almost nothing to do with your wifi provider. Just look at your browser toolbar before conducting business. If it shows HTTPS, it is a secure website and all information transmitted is encrypted and secure (unless the NSA has taken a big interest in you). Your only concern is to be certain you are actually connected to the business or bank's real website. I.E. it is bankofamerica.com, not bankofmerika.ru The only fear you should have with public wifi is if you actually log into a spoofing, parallel wifi system. This is where someone has set up a wifi network, give it a SSID name similar to the wifi network the hotel, rv park or other business provides for public use. They would have software that would track keystrokes and look for account numbers and passwords. This would be a very sophisticated scam, not something you will run into during the normal course of travel, especially at RV parks or other normal public wifi locations. It is also something that would not be a long running scheme, since the business would quickly notice another wifi network with the same name as theirs. Finally, these schemes don't happen at RV Parks. Willie Sutton said when the feds asked why he robbed banks and he replied "that's where the money is", RV parks are not a target rich environment. Waaaay too many uploads of pictures and not too many multi-million dollar accounts being revealed. High end hotels and coffee shops on Wall Street are more likely targets.
In answer to the OP, satellite internet is expensive, slow and almost unavailable (the major provider went out of business). Best bet is to rely on a combination of Park wifi and cellular data plans and be well aware that neither are going to provide fast or affordable access to hundreds of gigabytes of data.

BankofAmerica online banking returns a pre selected icon/picture that you look at to verify you are on the real web site before entering your password. If you are on a new computer you are then challenged with other security questions to answer.

I also have our BofA CC send a text each time a charge is made without swiping the card(automatic, phone or internet).

We also have all three credit companies blocked to prevent new accounts from being opened. Did that ten years ago or so when my info was in a missing VA laptop. Only have had to use the codes to open one of them a few times. Wife somehow did open a Kohls account. They are worst than internet scammers, so I got that account closed.

Chris

greende wrote:
So far works well but we do not camp in the western part of the country where cell service is nonexistent.

Darn Indians keep taking down our cell tower every time Verizon installs a new one. Chris

Water-Bug wrote:
If you're going the cellular route, the newer smartphones have mobil hotspot capability. In plain english, your smartphone acts as a wireless router for your other devices needing an internet connection. I use mine for my laptop, desktop and smart tv connectivity. (Don't use the smart tv very often)

This is what we do now. My wife is taking a Masters course online and needs to do homework online. We have Samsung Galaxy S smartphones and I bought a Wilson amplifier. Use one of our phones as a wifi hotspot and can connect up to 10 devices (I think 10 but we don't have that many). So far works well but we do not camp in the western part of the country where cell service is nonexistent.

Some thoughts... yes httpS is encrypted (128 bit for the most part), and very safe. Not perfectly safe though!! It is possible for a "blackhat" computer, on the same local network (like the local wifi) to capture the handshakes that establish the encryption between your computer and your banks computer and thus have both "keys".
Mind you it's really unlikely.

Some number of campgrounds (10%, 15%, ??) we have stayed at have "private" wifi, where you need the passcode to access. The problem here is, everyone there, and everyone who has stayed there since the last time they changed the code, and everyone that got the code from some friends, have the passcode.
So the campgrounds with secure wifi systems are not really that much more secure then "open" wifi systems.

The Credit Union I bank with wouldn't care if some Bozo had both my account-name and password and tries to access my account with his computer as it would stop at the point and tell the Bozo to enter the ADDITIONAL passccode they just called my home-phone with. The only way to change the phone number they send the passcode to is to go into the bank.

As for banking, if you have a smartphone, check with your bank to see if they "have an ap", both my credit union (personal) and commercial bank have secure "APs" for Android and I-OS.