online security

[naturist]

You don't have to be up to things nefarious to be concerned about privacy online. Merely attempting to do your banking via an open wifi hotspot or send/receive personal email on your phone or laptop at the library or the airport should be enough to raise alarm bells.

After all, your stuff is going out over radio, for pete's sake. Who knows what varmint might be listening in? Right?

So may I commend to your attention a couple solutions I have found. I've discovered for email Protonmail.com, which offers strong encryption between your computer and their server, and if both ends of the conversation are on Protonmail accounts, the encryption is end-to-end, meaning at no point between you and your spouse will it be possible for anybody to see your love notes. While on their servers, your mail is also encrypted, and they keep no logs of your communications, so they can't sell or surrender to any government any information on you. They are based in Switzerland, and while they offer free email accounts, with paid accounts you get more storage space and extra features including throwaway aliases to help scuttle spam.

Protonmail also has a VPN, which also is free, although there are extra features for paid VPN accounts. Besides being encrypted to their servers, they keep no logs on your surfing, so cannot sell your footprints or surrender data to the government.

For years I have been using AzireVPN, a VPN based in Sweden, and although it is a paid service, it has proven very helpful in keeping my credit card number and word of when I'll be gone from home (and home thus vulnerable to burglary) out of the hands of the bad guys. Azire also keeps no logs of your 'net footprints, and also gets my recommendation.

Those of us who roam the country, relying on cell phone networks and restaurant/campground wifi are justified in being cautious about our privacy on the interwebz. I am not affiliated in any way with either of these businesses, and do not profit in any way from recommending them to you all. I am merely giving you the benefit of my experience.

Azire VPN clicky
Proton mail clicky
proton vpn clicky

[CFerguson]

pnichols: and you have to trust Google to not retain that data without your knowledge too. (Knowing full well that Google is one of the worst offenders to consumer privacy.)

Do they? IDK, but several large companies have been in the news in the last year over retaining and selling customer data. Their typical response is "there is no customer specific identifying info in what we sell". Which in many cases has been shown to be a lie.

Remember folks, they track you by your computer's MAC address too. Change it regularly.
And now I will stop before someone labels me a tinfoil hat nut for pointing out verifiable facts.

[pnichols]

CFerguson wrote:
If you think Verizon and Comcast and Charter aren't selling your data, well Hello Pollyanna.

+1 on Protonmail. Have used them since when they were in beta.

If you don't want to worry about your data and are willing to fool with it when/if problems arise, then by all means do so. Others of us try to minimize our exposure so as to minimize problems. Nothing wrong with doing it either way- just go in with your eyes open and know the risks.

Just for fun I went deep into my Google account yesterday and clicked on several of the "not-so-obvious-abscure" settings that they kindof provide for us to kindof control what they collect and have on us users: Wow ... I turned a whole bunch of vaguely named data and location things "OFF" ... and also found a section where Google stored my passwords to several organizations that I do business with that have nothing to do with Google. I eliminated from their storage database 10-15 of my passwords!!

Google is useful for certain things, but can be dangerous.

[CFerguson]

If you think Verizon and Comcast and Charter aren't selling your data, well Hello Pollyanna.

+1 on Protonmail. Have used them since when they were in beta.

If you don't want to worry about your data and are willing to fool with it when/if problems arise, then by all means do so. Others of us try to minimize our exposure so as to minimize problems. Nothing wrong with doing it either way- just go in with your eyes open and know the risks.

[pnichols]

fj12ryder wrote:
This all pretty funny since the government no longer sends paper checks as opposed to electronic banking, i.e. direct deposit. Been doing electronic banking and such for many years with no issues. The only problems have been from the places storing the data, not the way it's sent.

Like I said, if it gives you the warm fuzzies have at it. But basically a non-issue. More people lose their stuff clicking on links in email, and trying to get rich from the Nigerian princes.

I suspect that inter-bank and other inter-agency transactions are handled via fully encrypted and/or Virtual Private Network channels - unlike the systems most of us have in place during any personal Internet-based interactions involving our finances and other private information. Of course we read all the time about the "supposedly expert big guys" getting hacked.

Getting by for many years in the past is no guarantee in the future. As I implied earlier - for important communications travel the Internet at your own level of risk tolerance.

[MDKMDK]

fj12ryder wrote:
This all pretty funny since the government no longer sends paper checks as opposed to electronic banking, i.e. direct deposit. Been doing electronic banking and such for many years with no issues. The only problems have been from the places storing the data, not the way it's sent.

Like I said, if it gives you the warm fuzzies have at it. But basically a non-issue. More people lose their stuff clicking on links in email, and trying to get rich from the Nigerian princes.

10-4. Also agree with Ductape and 2oldman comments. If I have to use a VPN, it will be to spoof my satco into thinking I'm in my living room at home, not on the beach in Florida, so I can live stream content I pay for anyway.

[fj12ryder]

This all pretty funny since the government no longer sends paper checks as opposed to electronic banking, i.e. direct deposit. Been doing electronic banking and such for many years with no issues. The only problems have been from the places storing the data, not the way it's sent.

Like I said, if it gives you the warm fuzzies have at it. But basically a non-issue. More people lose their stuff clicking on links in email, and trying to get rich from the Nigerian princes.

[pnichols]

Ductape wrote:
Trust the USPS more than encrypted electronic banking?

Yep ... I trust the USPS way, way more than less-than-256-bit Internet encryption ... because: Stealing mail is a lot easier to stop exposure to and investigate - than tracking down hackers in Eastern Europe, or Russia, or China, or on Mars. :B

Travel the Internet at your own risk.

[SidecarFlip]

Why I never get any statement from anyone online, always a paper statement and I never do my banking electronically. Always at the branch.

Conversely, I run Trend Micro on my computer, no crappy Norton or even crappier Avast.

[2oldman]

Ductape wrote:
Trust the USPS more than encrypted electronic banking?.

Sending my bank a picture of a check is a whole lot faster and secure than mailing it. I do everything electronically and never worry about it - I travel too much to do paper - not that I would anyway. Has worked great for many years. I'll stick with that until there's a reason not to.

[Ductape]

Trust the USPS more than encrypted electronic banking?

That wouldn't get my vote.

[pnichols]

naturist wrote:
You don't have to be up to things nefarious to be concerned about privacy online. Merely attempting to do your banking via an open wifi hotspot or send/receive personal email on your phone or laptop at the library or the airport should be enough to raise alarm bells.

After all, your stuff is going out over radio, for pete's sake. Who knows what varmint might be listening in? Right?

So may I commend to your attention a couple solutions I have found. I've discovered for email Protonmail.com, which offers strong encryption between your computer and their server, and if both ends of the conversation are on Protonmail accounts, the encryption is end-to-end, meaning at no point between you and your spouse will it be possible for anybody to see your love notes. While on their servers, your mail is also encrypted, and they keep no logs of your communications, so they can't sell or surrender to any government any information on you. They are based in Switzerland, and while they offer free email accounts, with paid accounts you get more storage space and extra features including throwaway aliases to help scuttle spam.

Protonmail also has a VPN, which also is free, although there are extra features for paid VPN accounts. Besides being encrypted to their servers, they keep no logs on your surfing, so cannot sell your footprints or surrender data to the government.

For years I have been using AzireVPN, a VPN based in Sweden, and although it is a paid service, it has proven very helpful in keeping my credit card number and word of when I'll be gone from home (and home thus vulnerable to burglary) out of the hands of the bad guys. Azire also keeps no logs of your 'net footprints, and also gets my recommendation.

Those of us who roam the country, relying on cell phone networks and restaurant/campground wifi are justified in being cautious about our privacy on the interwebz. I am not affiliated in any way with either of these businesses, and do not profit in any way from recommending them to you all. I am merely giving you the benefit of my experience.

Azire VPN clicky
Proton mail clicky
proton vpn clicky

As for me, I don't trust "anything" to be secure whenever the Internet is used by us peons. We do all our serious banking - whether on the road or at home base - via mail correspondence and voice phone calls only. Any serious banking is all handled through our financial advisers and the large international bank they work for - using hardcopy mailings, phone calls, and personal meetings.

Additionally, we back up all financial transactions with hardcopies - including all monthly expenses along with our banking and credit card activites. This is for two reasons: 1) No Internet security concerns at our level, and 2) personal historical records in case of any massive Internet interruption.

Through all of this, I guess that I'm assuming that within our bank and credit card companies any/all of their internal Internet-based traffic is covered by 256 bit encryption. I may be wrong regarding this level of encryption though, but I hope not too much wrong. 😞

[fj12ryder]

If it makes you feel better, go for it. Just not a big concern. Most of your data gets stolen where it's stored, not when you send an email.

As Billy often comments: "Much Ado about Nothing".

[GordonThree]

2oldman wrote:
I have no reason to think my Verizon data connection is not secure.

Secure yes, private no

Probably privacy would have been a better choice for the OPs headline

[2oldman]

I have no reason to think my Verizon data connection is not secure.