Going completely wireless for Internet?

[bld999]

Ah, so if I see the little padlock symbol, or verisign, that stuff, it's likely https?

 

[Midpack]

Ah, so if I see the little padlock symbol, or verisign, that stuff, it's likely https?

Not sure if you'll always see it the padlock, but probably. You can actually see "https:" in the url/address line if you're on secure. I think all financial institutions use it, I hope so...if you go to the Vanguard site you'll see (note first part) https://personal.vanguard.com/us/CorporatePortal

 

[bld999]

I just logged on to schwab, and it shows "https" in the url, thanks for the tip.

I guess the padlock just shows up on web vendor sites.

 

[Chuckanut]

A friend of mine uses Clear and loves it. Good speed, and he can place the modem anywhere in the house.

 

[check6]

I have Sprint 3/4G through their mobile device MIFI. I went this route because I live in two places and did not want to pay for hard wire for both. When I first went this route the plan was for unlimited download but that all changed last October. I now pay $79/mth for 12gb which if I am careful about how much YouTube I watch, I can stay under. I run streaming quotes all day with my online brokerage and can check the Sprint site for my usage.

It's nice because I can go anywhere and connect as long as it is within Sprint's coverage.

 

[Chuckanut]

If you use the FireFox browser you can get an Add-On called HTTPS Everywhere. It will ensure you are using HTTPS with every website that supports HTTPS (not all do.)

It is also available for the Chrome browser.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Has anyone here tried the token we can get from Schwab? I read something about them the other day on the Schwab site and thought they sounded worth a try for some extra security .

 

[donheff]

One problem that could be more severe on Wireless (although still a problem on hard wired connections) is that the SSL protocol (https) has vulnerabilities. There have been attacks that compromise the credentials of SSL servers, although IIRC these have not led to serious problems. But a new exploit called BEAST attacks confidentiality (the encrypted data stream itself). A survey indicates that 90% of sites are vulnerable. Fortunately, it sounds like this exploit is not yet being used "in the wild" and vendors are developing patches to browsers affected by it. Long term, SSL is going to need to be updated or replaced. This could present some real problems down the road. I hope we don't find out about them by having our bank accounts drained.

 

[M Paquette]

If you use the FireFox browser you can get an Add-On called HTTPS Everywhere. It will ensure you are using HTTPS with every website that supports HTTPS (not all do.)

It is also available for the Chrome browser.

This has the wonderful added advantage of causing almost all of your online activity content recorded through NarusInsight to be backed up in encrypted form at the Utah Data Center. Encryption of all data stored where others may potentially access it is always a good idea, as it invalidates the content analysis trick of concentrating on only the encrypted bits. That is, if everything is encrypted, it's harder to pick out the important bits from all the LOLCATS and grocery lists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narus_(company)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Data_Center

(And, yes, I'm actually serious about this. Yottabytes of storage at the Utah Data Center... That sort of capacity can hold years of digital communications content from every person on earth. All legally, once CISPA or some successor legislation goes through. Which is one big reason we are seeing so many bits of online legislation go through this year that all include language like “notwithstanding any other provision of law.” In other words, privacy restrictions currently in place would not apply to CISPA.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Intelligence_Sharing_and_Protection_Act