Internet on the road

Banks, like the BMO anyway and I see others on tier supported list, are giving away Trusteer Endpoint (IBM application). It makes banking safe even over an open connection.
Now are the banks able to keep the passwords safe from hackers at their own sites, likely a bigger risk.

Worried about online banking on public wifi? I would contact the bank for advice. Bank websites always encrypt data going both ways (as indicated by https in the address) so it may well be as free of risk as using a credit card. Here in Canada banks have a good record of absorbing the costs of all fraud unless the customer has been extremely careless with the password.

Public libraries are another source of free Internet away from home. In Canada our government pays the bill for every library to provide it, on library computers or your own via wifi. On the road it is pretty easy to find the library in a small town and it often leads to a nice conversation with local people.

I also find cellular Internet costs too high; I use a pay as you go service without Internet on my iPhone 5 for about $100 a year while others pay $800 a year. I know many have pressing need but I am near wifi 90% of the time so it just isn't worth the cost.

I'll use public wifi hotspots for just a quick email check, maps, or other generic uses.

For banking or any other personal business I use my air card.

cdevil--How many days of browsing?

I blocked all automatic updates. They caused all kinds of problems.

TOMMY47 wrote:
Didn't think much about this before this post.
5 GB and $50 a month seems like an awful lot.
I don't download movies, youtube, have NO apps , no "smart" phone, no TV downloads. Only need a hotspot for a laptop for email--banking--bill paying--reservations, general browsing. What kind of usage would that be?

You'd be surprised how much, if connected to a laptop. My dad had a 2GB MiFi and he used up almost all of it with only 30 minutes of the kind of browsing per day you're talking about. Most of it got eaten up by OS and antivirus updates.

But there is some good news. See my comment just above yours for an unlimited option.

Didn't think much about this before this post.
5 GB and $50 a month seems like an awful lot.
I don't download movies, youtube, have NO apps , no "smart" phone, no TV downloads. Only need a hotspot for a laptop for email--banking--bill paying--reservations, general browsing. What kind of usage would that be?

I didn't see this mentioned. FreedomPop offers free wireless internet access based on the Sprint network. (For what it is.) You just buy a MiFi hotspot that runs off a USB outlet (so you can run it off your cigarette lighter) and you get 500MB a month. That's very little, especially since your computer updates in the background and such. But if you use it sporadically it's great. You can buy more data but that gets pricey.

If you use it, be sure to disable the automatic top-off or it'll charge when you run over.

They also have an unlimited phone service, which includes tethering to your laptop, for $20/month. Unlimited text, voice, and data. Not bad. This is clearly a better choice if your internet usage is more than just sporadic.

For at least 8 years I've been traveling back and forth across the US on my motorcycle and have used a WIFI/MIFI 4G LTE card through Verizon. It cost me $50.00 a month for 5 GB. But the beauty of it is that I can be in the middle of nowhere and usually get great service.

I use it to pay bills but that's really easy since I pay 95% of all bills by either credit card or direct draw from the checking account. In case of the credit card I download the monthly statement, balance my computer loaded check book, and verify the amount is correct. I then go back into the credit card company site and authorize them to draw monies to pay the bill on a date I select. Since I have previously authorized them to direct draw from the checking account no actual checking account number is displayed.

As you can see I actually pay one bill per month instead of multiple bills and earn points on my credit card that I can "cash in" for gas card, clothes, movie tickets, etc.

And,naturally, when I see a Burger King or McDonald's on my travels I do utilize their parking lot while using their FREE INTERNET. This cuts down on the MIFI card use (which I've only exceeded 3 times since I began using it)

And, the MIFI card is my Internet Connection here in rural NC

Snowman9000 wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:
I think that for the minimal amount of time you want to spend on the internet, you may want to head over to Walmart and talk with the Straight Talk people, back where they sell cell phones. You would need to buy their mobile hotspot and also a (refillable) data plan. They will be about the cheapest around BUT it will not be the fastest speed.

Tim

Straight Talk is now selling mobile hotspots using either Verizon or AT&T's 4G LTE service. The slower 3G hotspots are fading fast.

Maybe this varies by service area. When I put in my zip code, they only show a 3G hotspot. They do show 4G for tablets.

I wish they would support a USB modem.

Strange, but yes, it appears they've discontinued the Verizon and AT&T 4G hotspots they were selling towards the end of last year. I looked at them closely while comparing costs in relation to the Millenicom 20GB/mo plan being dropped. I ended up going with Verizon direct at $100/mo for the same 20GB/mo no-contract plan, a $10/mo increase. The UMX 3G hotspot that Straight Talk still lists is ok, but I found the lack of an external antenna port a bit limiting in remote areas. I still keep one around though, as a backup in case our 4G hotspot and USB modem fails.