Separate computer for online banking?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Separate computer for online banking?

Posted: 11/21/2012 5:20:39 PM EDT

My bank is going paperless and unless I want to pay $3 a month I have to sign up for online Banking/statements.

The mac I've been using is over 7 years old. I've been wanting to buy a new computer for a while now and this may be a good excuse to do so. But I don't want to buy pay for a new mac. So it will have to be a PC.

I've been told that using a dedicated computer for banking is the most secure? So was thinking about a windows laptop just for this. Then using an old Dell desktop I have for surfing the net.

Anyone do this? It sounds like it's a bit of a pain in the ass.

Posted: 11/21/2012 5:24:33 PM EDT

[#1]

Sounds like a huge overkill to me.

Posted: 11/21/2012 5:26:39 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
Sounds like a huge overkill to me.

Maybe overkill is underrated?

Posted: 11/21/2012 5:40:53 PM EDT

[#3]

I wouldn't go to that extreme, but if you're that concerned use a cd or DVD bootable OS like Knoppix. Everything is held in ram and is gone on reboot.

My home machine is secured, but that's what I would do if I needed to use a public computer for anything like that.

Edit: here is the official Link

This way you don't need separate hardware and is even more paranoid.

Posted: 11/21/2012 6:07:41 PM EDT

[#4]

Just boot on a live Linux CD - Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Knoppix –– any of them are good. It may take a few minutes to boot up on a CD, but it is secure (no way for viruses to propagate between sessions) and easy.

Posted: 11/21/2012 6:26:47 PM EDT

[#5]

My internet is by USB modem and does not support Linux. Good suggestions though.

Posted: 11/21/2012 7:18:18 PM EDT

[#6]

Why not use VMware Player and create a virtual machine, keep it isolated and your good to go. VMware Player is free,but be sure to install anit-virus and anti-maiware on the VM, it isn't protected by the host's software.

Posted: 11/21/2012 7:22:47 PM EDT

[#7]

Just buy a new computer, install Microsoft security essentials and a good browser like Firefox or Chrome with AdBlock.

Make sure you use good strong passwords for your bank accounts!

Posted: 11/21/2012 7:56:56 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
Why not use VMware Player and create a virtual machine, keep it isolated and your good to go. VMware Player is free,but be sure to install anit-virus and anti-maiware on the VM, it isn't protected by the host's software.

This would probably be the easiest solution if you really want to us a separate machine for accessing your bank.

Posted: 11/22/2012 2:37:34 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Why not use VMware Player and create a virtual machine, keep it isolated and your good to go. VMware Player is free,but be sure to install anit-virus and anti-maiware on the VM, it isn't protected by the host's software.

This probably won't help. The Virtual Machine software is essentially just another application in the host OS. Even if you use a secure OS as the guest in the VM, the keystrokes still have to go through the host OS to get to the guest OS and malware can monitor the traffic for passwords and stuff.

Posted: 11/22/2012 2:45:30 AM EDT

[#10]

Research in private browsing

Any good browser has the feature

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 11/22/2012 3:15:36 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Why not use VMware Player and create a virtual machine, keep it isolated and your good to go. VMware Player is free,but be sure to install anit-virus and anti-maiware on the VM, it isn't protected by the host's software.

This probably won't help. The Virtual Machine software is essentially just another application in the host OS. Even if you use a secure OS as the guest in the VM, the keystrokes still have to go through the host OS to get to the guest OS and malware can monitor the traffic for passwords and stuff.

Get a keystroke encryption program to go along with it ?

Posted: 11/22/2012 4:45:05 AM EDT

[#12]

that is what I do.
one computer strictly for financials. log in to banks and my financial records. no surfing or downloading or installing on it.

my other machine is just for surfing and gaming.

I use a kvm switch so I only have one monitor and keyboard.
and it gets shut down when not in use.

I build my own pc's, so it wasn't that much to put one together for the piece of mind. 200 or 300 bucks isn't a big deal.

Posted: 11/22/2012 5:00:27 AM EDT

[#13]

This thread reminds me of the days when I had a separate machine just for PGP. Basically a C-2 machine, DOS 6.22 , no N.I.C., no modem, private key on a unlabeled floppy,encrypted messages moved and decrypted on another floppy which was wiped and formatted.

All that to decrypt a message from a buddy that said something like "You're a fag" and 45 minutes of work to produce an encrypted and signed message that said "You suck donkey cock". Copy it to other machine, FTP it up to the unix server, uuencode it, send it through Pine, then imagine myself a Silo Jockey laughing as my disrespect ICBM streaked over the Interwebs.

Posted: 11/22/2012 9:02:35 AM EDT

[#14]

This is a solution looking for a problem.

Get whatever new computer. Copy data off Mac. Shoot Mac full of holes at private range.

Follow standard safe computing practices on PC.

Posted: 11/22/2012 9:05:08 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
This is a solution looking for a problem.

Get whatever new computer. Copy data off Mac. Shoot Mac full of holes at private range.

Follow standard safe computing practices on PC.

ETA: my first instinct was also to go with some Linux Live CD but the bank website would probably require some version of flash or java or something else which might not necessarily be included on the Linux CD, thus making it a pain each time you wanted to check your bank account. BEST BET is to just run your OS intelligently, keep it patched and all software updated EVERY DAY, don't go to porn sites or any other bullshit games, or "free" anything websites, etc, etc... you could even run OpenDNS on your home network, etc.. so many layers, and levels to defense in-depth... mainly just don't be a dumbass.

ETA2: you could run some of this stuff, too:

- http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/security-essentials-download
- http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/
- check this link in each of your browsers daily: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/
- http://www.opendns.com/home-solutions/
- set all software to update automatically, etc

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Separate computer for online banking?

General » Urban Commandos

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us