Is safe online banking possible? sandbox?

On 4/11/2015 5:13 AM, Mike Barnes wrote:
Mike Barnes wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:
We're talking about a
restaurant that brings to your table a "gizmo" (operated by Wi-Fi)
that accepts your credit card for payment of the bill.

They're universal here (as in: I don't think I've seen anything else for
about ten years) and I get the impression that they often work using a
cellular connection rather than WiFi. Less dependent on merchant
infrastructure.

[adding to what I just wrote]

And the cellular goes straight to the bank. The merchant can't even find
out the customer's card number.

The customer enters a four-digit PIN rather than signing.

See http://www.pdqhirelondon.co.uk/about-us.htm

Interesting link. Thanks.

On 4/11/2015 8:46 AM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-04-11 5:13 AM, Mike Barnes wrote:
Mike Barnes wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:
We're talking about a
restaurant that brings to your table a "gizmo" (operated by Wi-Fi)
that accepts your credit card for payment of the bill.

They're universal here (as in: I don't think I've seen anything else for
about ten years) and I get the impression that they often work using a
cellular connection rather than WiFi. Less dependent on merchant
infrastructure.

[adding to what I just wrote]

And the cellular goes straight to the bank. The merchant can't even find
out the customer's card number.

The customer enters a four-digit PIN rather than signing.

See http://www.pdqhirelondon.co.uk/about-us.htm

Yup, that's how it's done. These terminals also print two receipts, one
for the customer, one for the vendor. If you have a travel-points card,
that's swiped separately.

HTH

What interests me is when my wife goes shopping I can tell how much
she spent before she gets home. I love that part.

However when I purchase takeout food at my favorite restaurant I swipe
the card, the total is approved and I get the receipt to sign. There is
a line for tip which I scribble in the amount and add it to the new
total and sign my name. She then puts it in the cash register. I always
check the transaction later than night but it doesn't get processed that
day. Sometimes I see that the tip was not included but most of the time
it is.

On Wed, 08 Apr 2015 18:20:38 -0700, mike wrote:

Can you do safe online banking in win7?

Google for Spyshelter, a free limited version is alsoavailable.

It will check every executable when it tries to open and gives the
option to bar it.

Maybe it will help you.
--
Sandy

On Fri, 10 Apr 2015 23:21:58 +0100, Mike Barnes
wrote:

Ken Blake wrote:
On Fri, 10 Apr 2015 16:50:10 -0400, Al Drake
wrote:

On 4/10/2015 4:17 PM, Tim Slattery wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:


I think Wolf only visits restaurants that bring a WiFi terminal to the
table, but I never think to ask about that before they show me to my table.

In my experience, such a restaurant is rare in the USA, but they are
very common in France and Italy, maybe in other countries in Europe
too.

In the US, the only restaurant I've seen with such gizmos is Uno's. No
place else.

In the US? You've been to how many?

I was at one a few minutes ago that supplies Wi-Fi. I've seen more
than I can count or even remember.

Sure, me too. But that's totally irrelevant to the topic under
discussion. We're not talking about Wi-Fi. We're talking about a
restaurant that brings to your table a "gizmo" (operated by Wi-Fi)
that accepts your credit card for payment of the bill.

They're universal here (as in: I don't think I've seen anything else for
about ten years) and I get the impression that they often work using a
cellular connection rather than WiFi. Less dependent on merchant
infrastructure.


You're in England. Yes, as I said, they are very common in France and
Italy, and I thought probably in most of the rest of Europe too.

Cellular vs. Wi-Fi? I have no idea.

Al Drake said "I can't speak for Canada or any other region of the US
but that's how it's done in the N.E. I haven't seen a wait person walk
away with a card in a long time." That's completely the opposite of my
experience. I've almost never seen it in the Southwest, where I live,
and I've also almost never seen it in NY, where I spend a couple of
weeks every year.

I'll be in San Francisco for a couple of weeks soon. If this thread is
still going on when I return (I hope not g) I'll post back with my
experiences there.

| I've never seen any gas station where you were asked for a zip code.
| Nothing other than a PIN.
|

Interesting. I think we're both in the Boston area.
I haven't used a credit card at a gas station for
decades, but I notice little stickers on the pumps.
Something like:

"Credit card customers: When promted, enter your
ZIP code to complete the transaction."

| I think the fee for something as simple as checking your balance at
| an ATM is in the dollar range.
|

Yes. I only use the ATMs for my own bank now. They're
free at TD Bank. A transaction at another bank would
cost me $1+ from each bank -- mine and the other.

On 4/11/2015 1:23 PM, Mayayana wrote:
| I've never seen any gas station where you were asked for a zip code.
| Nothing other than a PIN.
|

Interesting. I think we're both in the Boston area.
I haven't used a credit card at a gas station for
decades, but I notice little stickers on the pumps.
Something like:

"Credit card customers: When promted, enter your
ZIP code to complete the transaction."

| I think the fee for something as simple as checking your balance at
| an ATM is in the dollar range.
|

Yes. I only use the ATMs for my own bank now. They're
free at TD Bank. A transaction at another bank would
cost me $1+ from each bank -- mine and the other.


FYI I'm in southern New Hampshire and work in Burlington. I guess it
would qualify as the Boston area. At least a transplant. Gas is cheaper
here anyway.

"mike" wrote in message
...
Can you do safe online banking in win7?

Primary computer is win7 with firewall, AV,
firefox, noscript...etc...
I've never had a known malware infection.
But that pesky "known" negates everything.

I'm paranoid about online banking.
For that, I boot a live linux CD that never
goes anywhere but my bank.
It gives me a sense of security, but it's annoying.

I switched to Comodo internet security because it
has a one-click sandbox mode. My intention was
to run the browser in the sandbox for online banking.

But, after thinking about it, I concluded that the sandbox
could help me trap malware inside the sandbox, protecting
the primary OS while browsing risky sites.

If my computer already has malware, such as a keylogger,
the sandbox won't help me at all to prevent my
account info being logged and sent off to the hackers.
Yes? No?

Comodo sandbox has a virtual on-screen keyboard, but I'm not
sure that helps. The data has to be converted going out to
the bank. I'd be more trusting if the virtual keyboard
were part of the bank's website and no actual data could
be decoded on my end.

Is there anything I can do to keep my bank transactions
private in win7?

There's a product called SafeCentral that claims
to address the problem with "reverse sandboxing".
I have no idea if it really solves the problem.
And it costs $40. I can boot the live linux CD many times
for $40 worth of annoyance.

Decided to throw in my 2 cents' worth. I've done online banking since XP.
One reason I don't worry (much) is because the bank has some protection
built-in. I have to change my passwords every 3 months, and I can't repeat
a password. I get 3 tries at the password and I'm locked out. I can't have
a transaction over $999; it will be refused, so I have to do that "live."

Having said that, just about anything can be hacked. I could also drop my
debit/credit card (which also has the $999 limit) or have my wallet stolen.
Nothing's really safe nowadays. Why not talk to the bank and see what they
do on their end?

On Fri, 10 Apr 2015 23:18:38 +0000, Stormin' Norman wrote:

On Fri, 10 Apr 2015 17:58:49 -0400, Al Drake wrote:

Linux is a protester's toy. It's like hating the government and
wanting to live in cave, boast about freedom thinking they are better
off than others then post on Win7 groups about how great it is.

Laughable.

Oh geez, this is one of the funniest posts I have read today. Be careful, Gene
Bloch will get jealous.

Thanks for the laugh!

I've consulted my therapist about that post, and I'm happy to say that
I'm OK with it now.

Well, the pills helped too, I have to admit.

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On 4/11/2015 4:33 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-04-11 10:31 AM, Al Drake wrote:
On 4/11/2015 8:46 AM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-04-11 5:13 AM, Mike Barnes wrote:
Mike Barnes wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:
We're talking about a
restaurant that brings to your table a "gizmo" (operated by Wi-Fi)
that accepts your credit card for payment of the bill.

They're universal here (as in: I don't think I've seen anything else
for
about ten years) and I get the impression that they often work using a
cellular connection rather than WiFi. Less dependent on merchant
infrastructure.

[adding to what I just wrote]

And the cellular goes straight to the bank. The merchant can't even
find
out the customer's card number.

The customer enters a four-digit PIN rather than signing.

See http://www.pdqhirelondon.co.uk/about-us.htm

Yup, that's how it's done. These terminals also print two receipts, one
for the customer, one for the vendor. If you have a travel-points card,
that's swiped separately.

HTH

What interests me is when my wife goes shopping I can tell how much
she spent before she gets home. I love that part.

However when I purchase takeout food at my favorite restaurant I swipe
the card, the total is approved and I get the receipt to sign. There is
a line for tip which I scribble in the amount and add it to the new
total and sign my name. She then puts it in the cash register. I always
check the transaction later than night but it doesn't get processed that
day. Sometimes I see that the tip was not included but most of the time
it is.

At restaurant pay terminals, there's the opportunity to add a tip,
either as percentage or a $ amount.

Yes, I see that at the coffee brewer I go to here in this tiny city on
the Ipad they use. They have WI-FI set up for the ones that sit in the
booths. I wonder if they can pay with the mobile devices they bring. I
doubt it though. I know in some malls you one can shop from the parking
lot and pick up some where in the store. There is a restaurant I know of
that will bring your order out to you in your parked car.

On 4/11/2015 5:03 PM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-04-11 4:45 PM, Al Drake wrote:
On 4/11/2015 4:33 PM, Wolf K wrote:
[...]
At restaurant pay terminals, there's the opportunity to add a tip,
either as percentage or a $ amount.

Yes, I see that at the coffee brewer I go to here in this tiny city on
the Ipad they use. They have WI-FI set up for the ones that sit in the
booths. I wonder if they can pay with the mobile devices they bring. I
doubt it though. I know in some malls you one can shop from the parking
lot and pick up some where in the store. There is a restaurant I know of
that will bring your order out to you in your parked car.

Sounds like a drive-in. Do the servers come out on roller skates? ;-)

I thought of the same thing as I posted remembering my childhood.
These days with all the liability involved I think that one's dead and
buried.

Al Drake wrote:

On 4/10/2015 4:17 PM, Tim Slattery wrote:
Ken Blake wrote:


I think Wolf only visits restaurants that bring a WiFi terminal to the
table, but I never think to ask about that before they show me to my table.

In my experience, such a restaurant is rare in the USA, but they are
very common in France and Italy, maybe in other countries in Europe
too.

In the US, the only restaurant I've seen with such gizmos is Uno's. No
place else.

In the US? You've been to how many?

I was at one a few minutes ago that supplies Wi-Fi. I've seen more
than I can count or even remember. This particular place is one of the
smallest establishments anywhere. Has about 8 booths.

There are plenty of "gizmos" in my area.

Yes, lots of places offer wi-fi. Extremely few have a gizmo on the
table that you can use to pay your bill, or order dessert or drinks.

--
Tim Slattery
tim at risingdove dot com

Al Drake wrote:


I'm not talking about wait people walking away with your card. The gizmo
(mobile hand held Wi-Fi connected device like an Ipad) is brought to
you.

Actually, it sits on the table the whole time. You can play games (for
a price), check USA Today news, and order drinks and dessert (but not
entrees). When you want to leave, you swipe your credit card through
it and pay your bill.

You swipe your card and sign your name on the screen.

Yeah, you use your finger to sign your name. Why bother? It look very
little like my real signature.


--
Tim Slattery
tim at risingdove dot com

On Mon, 13 Apr 2015 11:27:15 -0400, Tim Slattery
wrote:

Yeah, you use your finger to sign your name. Why bother? It look very
little like my real signature.


In my experience, any time you use a credit card machine to make a
purchase (for example, in a grocery store) the "so-called" signature
you enter is meaningless. I normally just quickly draw a horizontal
line, and it *always* comes back and says "approved."

On 4/13/2015 1:27 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 13 Apr 2015 11:27:15 -0400, Tim Slattery
wrote:

Yeah, you use your finger to sign your name. Why bother? It look very
little like my real signature.


In my experience, any time you use a credit card machine to make a
purchase (for example, in a grocery store) the "so-called" signature
you enter is meaningless. I normally just quickly draw a horizontal
line, and it *always* comes back and says "approved."


Yes, I wonder why they bother getting signatures, especially on those
devices where you swipe the card yourself? A squiggle looking nothing
like your signature surely has little legal significance,

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

On 4/13/2015 11:27 AM, Tim Slattery wrote:
Al Drake wrote:


I'm not talking about wait people walking away with your card. The gizmo
(mobile hand held Wi-Fi connected device like an Ipad) is brought to
you.

Actually, it sits on the table the whole time. You can play games (for
a price), check USA Today news, and order drinks and dessert (but not
entrees). When you want to leave, you swipe your credit card through
it and pay your bill.

You swipe your card and sign your name on the screen.

Yeah, you use your finger to sign your name. Why bother? It look very
little like my real signature.


I like that. About the signature thing. I don't think it is anything
but insurance in case you claim you didn't make that transaction. One
time the pen was trying to use ran dry after the first letter of my
name. I asked for a new one and the guy said "don't worry about it"