Wifi Security Misunderstandings / Online Banking, Online Banking why park WiFi security doesn't matter to you. Options

[Webmaster]

I was just approving a review where the reviewer talked about the park WiFi being secure and allowing them to do online banking.

I am not sure what they considered secure about the park's WiFi, I would only guess that the park required a username / password for them to connect. This requirement provides you with no additional security, it ONLY helps to limit who can connect to the internet using the park's WiFi.

You can do your online banking using ANY internet connection as long as your bank provides a secure website noted with a lock in your browser and an https:// url. This lock indicates that all the data passed from your browser to the banks website is encrypted and secure. I doubt you can find a bank website that isn't a secure site. I am pretty sure that a secure web site is a basic FDIC requirement for banks today providing any online access.

[Texasrvers]

Very good information. Thanks.

[docj]

This is a common misunderstanding on many RV forums and I have been doing my share to convey the correct information to people for years.

More and more websites are going to HTTPS so that lots of things, other than banks are secure even if you don't need it. For example, once you have logged into Google, your Gmail account and everything else you do on the site is encrypted. Virtually all sites that take credit cards use secure connections; personally, I don't deal with those that do not. As long as you don't send credit card information in emails you are in pretty good shape.

[Fitzjohnfan]

Actually, wi-fi is not very secure either, even if you go to secure sites. Our local news just had a story about how crooks fan set up a "free WiFi" site in a public place, like an airport or McDonald's, wait for people to log in, then capture their personal info. One thing they mentioned, was to make sure folders and file on your device are not set to"share". Many people have sharing turned on to allow other people to view photos and music, but this opons your pc up to hackers.

[docj]

Actually, wi-fi is not very secure either, even if you go to secure sites. Our local news just had a story about how crooks fan set up a "free WiFi" site in a public place, like an airport or McDonald's, wait for people to log in, then capture their personal info. One thing they mentioned, was to make sure folders and file on your device are not set to"share". Many people have sharing turned on to allow other people to view photos and music, but this opons your pc up to hackers.

When you use a public wifi it's important to know that the one you are connecting to is the "real" one provided by the CG or Starbucks or McD's. The incidents reported in the news stories are cases where crooks set up wifi networks and the people using them don't bother to check to see if it is the real one or not. If you're foolish enough to do this then you're setting yourself up for disaster.