iPad versus a finances only computer

[Lsbcal]

Has anyone here had really good security (similar to the Vanguard requirements) and still been hacked?

I understand some of this paranoia as I read too many spy novels myself. Still, I'm not prepared to go to a totally separate piece of hardware to do financial transactions.

 

[Midpack]

Here is a link to what Vanguard wants from us regarding our security practices: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/help/SecurityOnlineFraudPledgeContent.jsp

Again, Vanguard's definition of "frequently" could make a huge difference for any account holder if they were hacked...

 

[Major Tom]

Probably no more necessary than me blowing $119 for an HP Slate 7 inch tablet I bought online today. Just couldn't pass it up and was itching to waste some money today.

Where did you get an HP Slate 7 for $119? I notice that they are now $139 on the HP site with an instant $30 savings, but might pull the trigger on one if I can get it for even less.

 

[Mulligan]

Where did you get an HP Slate 7 for $119? I notice that they are now $139 on the HP site with an instant $30 savings, but might pull the trigger on one if I can get it for even less.

Do you have a chase credit card, Tom? If you do, go to their Ultimate Rewards shopping mall online under Chase Ultimate Rewards. Then go to HP in their directory of companies participating. There it will show you HP specials. One of them is spend $100 or more by July 31 and get an additional $20 off purchase.

 

[Major Tom]

Do you have a chase credit card, Tom? If you do, go to their Ultimate Rewards shopping mall online under Chase Ultimate Rewards. Then go to HP in their directory of companies participating. There it will show you HP specials. One of them is spend $100 or more by July 31 and get an additional $20 off purchase.

Unfortunately, no. I do have an Amex Blue card though. They tend to offer a lot of specials, so perhaps I'll get lucky with that card. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Mulligan]

Where did you get an HP Slate 7 for $119? I notice that they are now $139 on the HP site with an instant $30 savings, but might pull the trigger on one if I can get it for even less.

Also make sure you put the special code in that it mentions to get the additional $20. Although it redirects you to the HP site, it originates through the Chase Mall.

 

[Mulligan]

Unfortunately, no. I do have an Amex Blue card though. They tend to offer a lot of specials, so perhaps I'll get lucky with that card. Thanks for the tip.

Worth a shot. Most CC brands have a shopping site under there website. As long as you are truly shopping for something you are going to buy, it pays to go under them and look for additional discounts. For example Priceline and Hotwire both have additional percentage off of price through cash back program, if you just buy through the Mall that is linked to their respective websites.

 

[explanade]

If there are any changes of this sort, Vanguard will email you to your current email account with a message on the changes. Transfer transactions would be to accounts you hopefully have good security on and that you control. For the bad guy to be successful, he would have to change the VG account to transfer to an account he controls but that is in your registered VG name and you would have to miss seeing the email about the change.

I do not think one could add a transfer account change and quickly do that transfer i.e. I think (but am not sure of this) that there is a transition period before you can actually do that transfer. My guess is if the transfer is out of character, VG will flag this as unusual. I guess if one is leaving on an extended trip and will not access one's secure email, you would have a security risk there. In that case, one could notify VG of the trip length like one does with a credit card company.

What are the mechanics of redemptions/withdrawals from Vanguard?

Say you sell some Wellsley shares. Does the proceeds go automatically to some kind of cash account?

Then you can have them send a check or do an ACH transfer to another institution?

It's been awhile since I set up the ACH between VG and my credit union but I believe it took a few days and required some kind of verification. And I've only used it to send funds from the credit union to VG, not the other way around.

 

[Lsbcal]

For an ACH it takes a few days. One cannot just transfer to any old account without some verification which takes awhile to set up.

 

[Katsmeow]

If there are any changes of this sort, Vanguard will email you to your current email account with a message on the changes. Transfer transactions would be to accounts you hopefully have good security on and that you control. For the bad guy to be successful, he would have to change the VG account to transfer to an account he controls but that is in your registered VG name and you would have to miss seeing the email about the change.

I do not think one could add a transfer account change and quickly do that transfer i.e. I think (but am not sure of this) that there is a transition period before you can actually do that transfer.

I agree that it could not be done quickly, which is why I think it is so effective to check your account online frequently in that you have a chance of finding something while it is still in process and nothing has happened yet.

I do realize emails come in but it is possible to miss an email or have it go to spam so that is why I like to also check online.

I just think that for the safety of the account it is a prudent thing to do and is easy enough to do.

OTOH, Vanguard's security measures look as solid as they can make them ( as expected) even if there are no absolute guarantees.

Well, no, there security measures aren't as solid as they can make them. They are good in many ways. On the other hand, Vanguard has limitations on password length and characters that make their passwords not as secure as they are at many sites. Also, Vanguard has you first put in your user name and then put in your password. The negative of this is that it allows someone to know whether the user name is correct or not rather than having a site where you put in both user name and password at the same time and if it doesn't go through you don't know which was wrong.

 

[Lsbcal]

I called up Vanguard and the best way to secure your computer access while on vacation is to set the account for restricted access to just one (probably home) computer. This seems like a good choice for most since logging on from a hotel wifi is not a good idea IMO. This also restricts one to just one browser. You will be asked a security question if you use another browser on the same computer.

If I need vacation access I'll just call VG. One could temporarily restrict all access but this seems too drastic to me.

BTW, I was told that VG will eventually be allowing longer passwords. Apparently this is a slow to be implemented improvement.

 

[bolt]

Web security personnel have advised me if its within my means, have dedicated financial hardware if possible.

 

[photoguy]

Web security personnel have advised me if its within my means, have dedicated financial hardware if possible.

Isn't that a bit like asking a barber if you need a haircut?

It would be very easy for vanguard and other banks to really increase the security on accounts. But the fact that they don't makes me think the risk is minimal.

Does anybody actually know of an individual who had their brokerage account hacked by a stranger and they lost money? The only cases I've heard this occur is with business accounts which is different matter.

 

[photoguy]

Well, no, there security measures aren't as solid as they can make them. They are good in many ways. On the other hand, Vanguard has limitations on password length and characters that make their passwords not as secure as they are at many sites.

Vanguard doesn't even use security tokens. The last time I asked about that they had no plans to do so.