A while back Clark recommended people buy a didicated chrome book to use only for financial business as protection against hackers and viruses. Is this still recommended? What do others think?
I have one for travel. Compact, easy to use. But not for financials.
For that, I use incognito on Chrome [win+shift+N] No history is left behind.
Then 2FA with access code sent to my cell phone. So a hacker would need my access username, password, and my cell phone.
Perfect? Of course not, but I feel okay with it.
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Not necessary as long as your accounts all have two-factor authentication enabled.
Why? Can you expand on that?
I use the Linux operating system for finances, an installation on my laptop which is dual bootable Linux or Windows. I use MFA with Authentication apps, try to avoid text authentication. I have unique highly complex passwords which I change all the time. This is only possible because of my password manager.
I have never quite understood the need to change them every six months. So your p/w is safe for 179 days, but on day 180 it’s not safe?
That is true of any refresh interval you might decide upon. You could change the password every time you login if you wish…
Some of my passwords I change every 90 days.
Perhaps because it limits the time someone who has been trying or who has gotten your credentials but not yet had an opportunity to use them yet.
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Okay, but I still don’t understand why. [this is a very very very old debate]
I don’t understand your point. Do you favor changing passwords never or frequently?
I don’t see why a p/w is good for X days, and then suddenly, the next days it’s unsafe.
My p/w’s are 12-15 characters long, a mix of upper / lower case, numbers, and symbols. I don’t see a need to change them.
Your computer may be attacked at random intervals, therefore changing the password periodically may reduce your exposure. If a keylogger harvests your credentials but it takes a while for them to get sold on the dark web and used, a timely change might save you.
Likewise there is no hard and fast rule for bathing or changing undergarments. But uncertainty about n or n+1 days doesn’t mean that changing them never is a good idea.
Whataboutism doesn’t work for IT security nor personal hygiene.
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Heh, I have a hard time comparing changing underwear with changing passwords.
As long as you have good antivirus and malware software running on your computer, I don’t think it makes much difference. Using a VPN and secure email is good for protecting personal data/information. Maybe I am lucky, I have never had an issue in transmitting and dealing with financial data. Using an ethernet connection is the most secure you will find. Sort of like using a corded telephone for private calls.
Sorry there is nothing inherently secure about an Ethernet connection. You have to layer on encryption, either via VPN or an https:// connection. If you don’t do that, all of the traffic can be stolen and used.
That’s what I was saying, one has to utilize all safeguards available including ethernet, VPN and everything else for best protection. Nothing is totally safe so go accordingly when dealing with IoT.
Awhile back, I read somewhere a financial wizard guy recommended something similar…so I bought a small iPad just to use on our finances only…no emails , no surfing the web for stuff…just our accounts, and the irs site when I do the taxes online. This way, if anything gets hacked or messed with on my ‘everyday iPad’ , then I know that no financial stuff is effected. This has worked great for us, and I highly recommend doing this…either on a separate ipad as I did, or on a separate computer or laptop, whatever. Think about it.
I have added Cloudflare DNS to my toolbox for additional protection against malware. It’s free to use and easy to configure.
In addition to the recommendations set forth Vault I recommend that You use the pass keys that were available instead of passwords and a VPN ( Virtual Private network).
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Properly used, a Chromebook is an excellent tool for financial business. That is exactly what we do.
I like inexpensive 13-14 inch Chromebooks when they have been on sale at Costco. 8GB of RAM is good to have.
Use only Chromebooks that are still receiving Auto Updates. See:
Do not install any apps or software onto the device!
For financial sites or sensitive sites, only use a trusted network. Your phone hot spot can be very secure. For extra security, power cycle your router right before you do your weekly or monthly financial work.
When you use it for financial sites:
- Use it from a turned-off state. This will cause it to do a verified boot.
- Use it only in Guest mode.
- Do not allow it to send reports to Google, move the slider to OFF.
- Go directly to your financial site, login. Do your business. Logout.
- Go back to step 1. (Repeat for each financial site)
Using The Chromebook in this manner is not quite as clunky as it sounds because it loads the OS so fast.
Using the Chromebook in this manner eliminates/reduces many attack possibilities. A Chromebook used in this manner is the most secure computing device that your average person will ever have. No apps, exploits, or data will be brought into a new Guest session. No data will survive a Guest Session after you close it.
Don’t open any extra tabs when you are doing your financials.
This IS as secure as you can make it, unless you are truly an expert in this area.
(You can use internet searches and AI to verify what I assert.)
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