Safe WiFi Hotspot

[margaretmahlum]

Looking to be on the road for a few months at a time and need to have access to a safe, secure WiFi to handle financial transactions, campground bookings etc. via the internet using my laptop and smartphone. I wonder what others have found to be the most cost effective way to accomplish this and stay connected while traveling the roads in an RV.

I am fairly new to the RV Forum. So far I have had good responses to my posts and I really do appreciate the help.

[allenm]

Just like a house - if a person does everything they can to minimize their online risk, like not using public computers for sensitive information, using difficult passwords, monitoring their financial accounts, etc, they will probably put themselves in the 1% or so risk category.

There are no guarantees, but a person sure can reduce the risk!

My concern is how companies, and even doctors, safeguard my information. If you want to worry about something, that's the real problem.

[Campfire_Time]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
To get the lowdown on personal information security in general, catch the episode of "Adam Ruins Everything" that deals with the issue. It basically explains that you cannot do anything to protect your credit information, your personal information or any other information that would materially make that information more secure. In other words, the barn door has been open for years, and the horses are all long gone.

Horse hockey. That would be like saying since criminals can easily break into any house there's no point in locking the doors. You can't protect or control every aspect of any transactions, even if you never use the Internet. But there is plenty you can do to protect what you can control and reduce your attack surface. So why wouldn't you?

The media just loves to scare people. Tru Tv was good when it was court TV, now it's just the National Enquirer in video format.

[westernrvparkow]

To get the lowdown on personal information security in general, catch the episode of "Adam Ruins Everything" that deals with the issue. It basically explains that you cannot do anything to protect your credit information, your personal information or any other information that would materially make that information more secure. In other words, the barn door has been open for years, and the horses are all long gone.

[wbwood]

For those bills with varying amounts, you can call them and find out the amount and then just mail a check to them. They will give you their mailing address when you call.

[wbwood]

margaretmahlum wrote:
Looking to be on the road for a few months at a time and need to have access to a safe, secure WiFi to handle financial transactions, campground bookings etc. via the internet using my laptop and smartphone. I wonder what others have found to be the most cost effective way to accomplish this and stay connected while traveling the roads in an RV.

I am fairly new to the RV Forum. So far I have had good responses to my posts and I really do appreciate the help.

Short of sending a check (which is no safer than anyway else), you should try going through your financial institution to pay your bills. You can have your bank automatically set up the payments for the future. That works great if the payments are the same amount. You could just overpay the creditors by a little to cover things. As far as campground bookings, just call them and make reservations that way. Do your research online, but call them to final things up.

This is, if you are worried about it.

[4X4Dodger]

Your financial institution is the only security you really need worry about and if they are doing the login process correctly you will have no worries.

For security your bank (s) need to have a telephone number from you. When you attempt to log in it will not let you in to the system until it has sent you an sms or voice message with a ONE TIME code, like a 5 digit number.

Then you must input that number into the login screen on your computer then and only then will it allow you into your accounts.

While this system is not perfect it is far better than the simple password login system.

And keep in mind most financial information is not hacked over wifi. It is obtained by hacking the large commercial centers that store your credit card numbers.

In the example I show above you never type you account number and it is secure on your banks system. Your much more likley to lose money by stores being hacked like Target or Barnes and Noble.

[valhalla360]

If you need secure, a cell based option is your best (dedicated mifi or thru your cell phone hot spot).

While the data costs are cheaper than they used to be, I'm not aware of anyone with unlimited data plans. Certainly not for $35/month. You may come across the occasional individual who got grandfathered in years ago but that's not relevant to the OP most likely.

As others have mentioned, there is no guarantee of security, regardless of how you handle internet connections.

[wa8yxm]

Use of the cell phone is safer, Make sure the Wi-Fi side is encrypted (Password or decryption key needed to access) and change the password/code/key from time to time.

Or better yet, Do the financial stuff using the phone's browser.

But be aware.. You have to decide how heavy a tin-foil hat you need is.. That is to say NOTHING, Not even handling all financial transactions in person at the teller's cage, is 100% safe.. So you evaluate the risks and act accordingly, Review your statements often (like every week at the least if not more often) and if transactions show up that look strange.. QUESTION THEM.

True story. Friend and co-worker rented a car.. Shortly after she got a call from her bank about a suspect transaction.

When UPS delivered the goods, the thief signed for them. The UPS person who delivered then stepped aside and his "Ride along" Stepped up and explaned the thief's fugure to him.. also his Miranda Rights. (She's a cop).

She then went to the auto rental where thief's brother worked and explained his future, and Miranda rights, to him.

The family that goes to prison together.. Stays together.

[wbwood]

Campfire Time wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
If you are on a site where the address is HTTPS: you are on a secure site.

This is not always a guarantee of security.

True, for any connection, no matter where or on any network.

[Campfire_Time]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
If you are on a site where the address is HTTPS: you are on a secure site.

This is not always a guarantee of security. The initial logon may be SSL, but you can be passed to a non-secure connection after the logon process. Not so much with banks and other financial institutions, they generally maintain an SSL connection even if they pass you to another web site. But many others drop the SSL after you login, even some health care providers.

That said your connection cannot be snooped if you are on any Wifi or hotspot that uses a PSK key. Even a common key that anyone can use is safe because the key forces the encryption on your connection, and that encryption is specific to your connection.

[allenm]

My 2015 Chevy truck came with a built-in Wi-Fi hot spot. It's part of the OnStar stuff, but the service is actually AT&T. I was hoping it would work adequately, but it seldom worked for me.

I ended up getting a mobile WiFi hot spot from Sprint, and so far it has worked great almost everywhere we have camped in the Midwest. I know Sprint does not have good coverage out west.

BTW, a cell phone works fine as a hot spot unless you try to move a lot of data. They will eventually get hot enough to shutdown.

[GoPackGo]

I've been fulltiming for 2 years now and have used a Verizon MiFi with a Wilson Sleek since I started. I've been all over the western and southern states and I can only recall once or twice where I could not get service.

I can run several devices at once off the MiFi - phone (data), laptop, wireless printer, Tablet, Nook, etc.

You can stick the MiFi in your pocket and head off to the beach or a park if you want to - read a book on your Nook or use your laptop.

I use it for all the things you mentioned.

Campground WiFi is hit and miss. The trouble is that you can't depend on it being 'good' everywhere you go.

[cameronpatentla]

Technically, WiFi is a layer 2 local area radio technology. You can connect 2 devices over a WiFi network using 802.11x but that alone will not get you to the Internet. You have to have a second, separate connection via a modem, gateway or router into either the wired/optical network (cable, Uverse or DSL), or cellular RAN technology (e.g. ATT, Verizon, etc., LTE) to get to the Internet. McDonalds, Starbucks, hotspots etc. are layer 2, 802.11x radio then into the wired network, and the radio portion is often open, unsecured and can be snooped. OTOH, most carrier WiFi hotspots that you can buy combine the layer 2 wireless Ethernet with LTE RAN access as the second hop. That is why the carrier hotspot you buy have a SIM card and telephone number. The first hop may be unsecured (although today, most are default encrypted with WEP, WPA, etc. and there is a second unsecured channel for guest access), and the second hop into the cellular network is encrypted.

[azrving]

I know little about tech stuff but you seem to be saying two things. You mention wifi and yet you also say laptop and smart phone. I take wifi to mean places like mc Donalds or other places and I would never do much at places like that. I use a laptop and my cell phone through the "tethering" function. I guess it's called wifi by some or a hotspot or mifi. Basically if you use your phone and connect to your laptop with a password you should be fine.

[westernrvparkow]

margaretmahlum wrote:
I agree that using any of the campground's free wifi is a bad idea. Thank you so much for the information Roy.

If you are on a site where the address is HTTPS: you are on a secure site. You can log in and your internet session is encrypted. What the people on the other end do with that information should be a bigger concern that the chance your information will somehow be intercepted in transit.