Laptop Computer just for online banking ... ?

[Jingthing]

It's a long story why I'm interested in this (and I'm not going to bore you with that) and maybe these are some dumb questions, but I'll ask anyway.

I am interesting in buying a low end laptop JUST for doing my online financial transactions. Nothing else.

I also don't want to buy an OEM windows for that.

Can this be secure using another operating system (which one) and also which browser to use with this operating system?

I guess if I need OEM windows to enhance security for this solution, I'd consider it, but trying to keep this as cheap and basic as possible, but security is the main goal.

Some added questions:

Software suggestions for added security for this idea.

Suggestions for specific very cheap laptops just for this purpose.

Yes, I know I could use my smartphone for a lot of banking, but I don't want to.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Jingthing

[greensun]

You could use Linux Ubuntu/Kubuntu as an operating system as those are free and do security updates automatically.

The basic usage is pretty much same experience as it is with Windows machines.

For browser use something which get regular security upgrades. Chrome, Chromium or Firefox.

[Jingthing]

Any learning curve with Linux? No problem installing those browsers on it?

Sent from my Lenovo S820_ROW using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[NeverSure]

If you have an android smartphone you are using linux.

[Jingthing]

Aha!

Is there any reason to think a clean banking online computer would be more or less secure using Windows vs Linux?

Sent from my Lenovo S820_ROW using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited December 4, 2014 by Jingthing

[eeeya]

ubuntu version is probably the best suited for you. google it or youtube it

[greensun]

Aha!

Is there any reason to think a clean banking online computer would be more or less secure using Windows vs Linux?

Sent from my Lenovo S820_ROW using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Internet bangking is most likely more secure with Linux. The softwares you have installed, are automatically updated to the most secure or most resent versions (you can actually say if you wish to have only the security updates or updates in general). Unlike other systems, updates are often done in the background so that it does not bug the users who wishes to get his work done.

There are very little malware on Linux systems. When you install new applications, those are coming from well known sources, which are monitored constantly, not from some unknown websites. All the software updates are also coming from the same sources.

[JDGRUEN]

You can get a mini laptop running Windows 8.1 for about $220.00 Asus or other brand - ready - set - go... right out of the box.

With https security on Bank Servers - I don't see the concern with security. I have been using on line only bank for six years now ... almost one year from Thailand without a single incident. With a good anti-virus like Advir - for free. and constant Windows 8.1 security updates you'll be fine ... I see your reaction as an over reaction...

Security problems with on line financial usage such as the stock market or on line banking is more often sloppy security in usage of passwords, challenge words and pin numbers. Linux or anything else is not going to help that.

But to each his own...

[greensun]

Any learning curve with Linux? No problem installing those browsers on it?

Sent from my Lenovo S820_ROW using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

At normal office user level, not really. In fact installing applications, like browsers is probably easier process, compared to Windows or Mac. You have an Application central, where you find, search and install the applications which you wish to use. The same system takes care of the security of the applications - automatically.

You'll start noticing the differences when you get deeper to the system core, but that's the same when comparing Windows to the Mac.

[Jingthing]

I agree it's an aggressively paranoid tactic, but I'm just not all that careful with my computing on my main PC and have had all kinds of viral incidents over the years. I also personally know people who have had financial accounts hacked and this just seems cheaper in the long run than that ever happening. I think for me alien keyloggers or full takeovers are probably a real risk. Good point about passwords though.

There is REALLY a mini laptop with legal Windows on it for 220 dollars IN THAILAND?

Really?

Edited December 4, 2014 by Jingthing

[eeeya]

i run a laptop with dual boot, windows 7 and ubuntu. the copy of windows is questionable so i never do any financial transactions on it but rather boot up ubuntu. though lately i prefer to do any transactions though my samsung note 8 tablet instead.

i used to be a anti windows... ubuntu only user but now i just cant be bothered with it anymore and just use the tablet instead.

[NeverSure]

PM Sent

[JDGRUEN]

I agree it's an aggressively paranoid tactic, but I'm just not all that careful with my computing on my main PC and have had all kinds of viral incidents over the years. I also personally know people who have had financial accounts hacked and this just seems cheaper in the long run than that ever happening. I think for me alien keyloggers or full takeovers are probably a real risk. Good point about passwords though.

There is REALLY a mini laptop with legal Windows on it for 220 dollars IN THAILAND?

Really?

I was quoting U.S. price ... it is about the size of a tablet... Just for reference try tigerdirect.com ... just to see the variety ... I trust TD as they have been an internet shop for over 15 years... one of the first...

None of the things you mention have ever happened to me... And I have been on the internet since Al Gore invented it ...

[Jingthing]

I agree it's an aggressively paranoid tactic, but I'm just not all that careful with my computing on my main PC and have had all kinds of viral incidents over the years. I also personally know people who have had financial accounts hacked and this just seems cheaper in the long run than that ever happening. I think for me alien keyloggers or full takeovers are probably a real risk. Good point about passwords though.

There is REALLY a mini laptop with legal Windows on it for 220 dollars IN THAILAND?

Really?

I was quoting U.S. price ... it is about the size of a tablet... Just for reference try tigerdirect.com ... just to see the variety ... I trust TD as they have been an internet shop for over 15 years... one of the first...

None of the things you mention have ever happened to me... And I have been on the internet since Al Gore invented it ...

Well congratulations ... but I've lost count of the number of hard drives I've messed up ...

Have also been on forever.

Anyway, really as in my OP, I don't that much point in getting into WHY it might be desirable for me to have a dedicated clean computer for this. I definitely want it. Yes I realize it might be wasted money ... which is why I'm researching best options for doing this.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Jingthing

[canopus1969]

Cheap and not a bad spec for a tablet : http://www.csci.co.th/index.php/product/wisebook-au101t-detail

[Jingthing]

Cheap and not a bad spec for a tablet : http://www.csci.co.th/index.php/product/wisebook-au101t-detail

That's another idea, a tablet instead of a laptop. I was thinking the laptop just to connect to my non-wireless DSL whenever I needed it. With a tablet I see I could get an ethernet adapter and presumably do the same? Is an active phone number SIM card required in a tablet? I don't see the need for a phone number or wireless plan just for this not often used device. I'm not really clear on tablets ... is it phone, is it a small computer. I know it's a big segment now but haven't really been attracted to them before. I still require my desktop PC!

Edited December 4, 2014 by Jingthing

[A1Str8]

Buy a chrome book. That's the best for doing only online stuff. Plus you don't even need to worry about viruses since nothing is installed manually. All the updates are automated and happen using secure sources.

Edited December 4, 2014 by A1Str8

[KittenKong]

There is REALLY a mini laptop with legal Windows on it for 220 dollars IN THAILAND?

Really?

Tesco currently have an HP laptop with legal Windows 8 for 9900Baht. The spec seemed quite good to me, for the price.

If you only want to use it for online banking, web surfing, email, word processing, spreadsheets etc then Linux is surely the way to go, as others have mentioned. The Ubuntu version comes with all the software you are likely to need.

Only if you need specific Windows programmes would you really need to have Windows. Most domestic users do not have this requirement.

[KittenKong]

That's another idea, a tablet instead of a laptop. I was thinking the laptop just to connect to my non-wireless DSL whenever I needed it. With a tablet I see I could get an ethernet adapter and presumably do the same? Is an active phone number SIM card required in a tablet? I don't see the need for a phone number or wireless plan just for this not often used device. I'm not really clear on tablets ... is it phone, is it a small computer. I know it's a big segment now but haven't really been attracted to them before. I still require my desktop PC!

Some tablets take SIM cards, some dont. You are never obliged to have one unless you particularly want to sign up for 3G data etc.

A tablet is a small computer that comes with a touch screen that rather limits what you can do with it without spraining your wrist. You can add a (wireless) keyboard and mouse for increased functionality. Yes, you can get an Ethernet adaptor for them.

[Jingthing]

Another "rationalization" for doing this is to have a backup computer for finance stuff for times that my main PC is on the fritz, and that happens.

Doing such stuff in an internet cafe would be very bad ... and sometimes you need to do stuff right away, like credit card payments.

On the tablet vs. laptop, just how cheap could I go for this basic function WITHOUT windows?

Also, would the banking sites need to be the special mobile versions of the sites for the tablet?

At this point if I do this, cheapest sounds best if it does what I want.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Jingthing

[jpinx]

Your main problem is security of your own system it seems, and this means the log on information for your bank account. Most browsers remember your usernames and passwords and store them on the hard drive. That is one big issue for you to make a decision about - it can be disabled, but at some cost to convenience. The next thing is second level authrntication, usually selecting some characters from a second "passphrase" . The browser won't know the passphrase , but you might not either, and you'll be tempted to store it somewhere.....

Then there is the issue of session hijacking - someone managing to get in between you and your bank while you are logged in. Wifi is vulnerable to this, as is the data connection from a SIM card. A plugged in hard wired connection is much safer, but becoming very rare nowadays.

Finally there is the bank system itself - and you just have to trust your bankers techies to get it right. Nothing for you to do there

Solutions are many -- your concept of a dedicated little box is good, but what happens when it's stolen? Your bank webpages will be virtually the only thing in the browser history -- immediately obvious to a thief. Depends on your capabilities, but running a virtual machine with a dedicated broswer for banking would be good if the whole vm is kept on a usb stick maybe. Thieves don't tend to steal usb sticks - just the laptop. Or use an SSD micro card - so small you can hide it easily and all your banking is safe-ish

Connections by wifi are unavoidable, so make your banking quick and get logged out quick. Minimise your exposure to someone spotting your connection going online. Depends on your bank and your needs, but I tend to right-click the logout and open in new tab/window, so that the page containing my latest statemtn or whatever is still on screen after I'm logged off.

Lots of other possibilities .. there's as many ways to do something on the internet as there are people doing it

[innerspace]

Surprised noone has mentioned already (or missed if they did)...

Extension on the linux idea is using a linux usb live drive.

Basically an operating system on a usb drive, will cost you 200B or so.

Switch off your computer, plug in your stick and start up, booting from the usb instead of your hdd.

Any viruses, keyloggers, malware or spyware on your main machine will not be on the usb. Never plug it into a running machine and all safe. Any concerns make a new clean one.

You can even use this on other computers in the same way.

When creating the drive you have 2 choices.

Normal and changes are wiped every restart. Secure but inconvenient.

Or persistant which can keep changes. Minor increased risk but minimal. Can prepare browsers as you like etc.

[RKASA]

You can run most linux on a <8k baht laptop new or some used one for what you want and have the bene of wifi, usb ports and lan connections etc - stand alone full function and cheap. Most bank etc require a moble app on a phone which the looks and feel of is differant then on a PC but they work fine too.

When LINUX does an update it updates everything apps and OS all of it at the same time - it uses an app like synptic to update and search and install programs in a application type fashion - most linux version have or share a repository of apps so no searching the internet for solutions and no bs malware spyware packages like you get with downloads from cnet soureforge etc with a windows installers and the dangers of .exe files. Think of it like the google app store for your phone but everything is free. They also have free support forums etc.

Some os's like PClinuxOS are vary XP like in operation with KDE destop. Well really it is the KDE desktop that is XP like and select the linux version that is using that. Their (pclinux) repo is tested ever app before released to the repo. You have a notifiy icon when updates are ready for download that shows on the task bar - yes just like windows it has a task bar and menu with same as start button - you also have as many as 16 switchable desktop screens - I normally have 4 set - so all the apps you have running don't have to be on one single screen like windows. It is not tiles it is selected boxes on the task bar to switch between screens.

There are a ton of ways to use linux - from usb drive, dual boot, vertual install, etc etc etc, but to be stright forward and simple just get a cheap maybe even used laptop and install linux and be free.

[Thaimaishoe]

Download Linux Tails and make a bootable USB stick. Boot ANY computer from that, and do your banking. When you shut down there will be no hint of your presence on the computer you used, and Tails is about as secure as you are going to find for the actual connection.

Read further here...

https://tails.boum.org/

and act accordingly.

[Jingthing]

Download Linux Tails and make a bootable USB stick. Boot ANY computer from that, and do your banking. When you shut down there will be no hint of your presence on the computer you used, and Tails is about as secure as you are going to find for the actual connection.

Read further here...

https://tails.boum.org/

and act accordingly.

Interesting but doesn't seem good for banking. Bank sites notice when you change computers. They expect the same "home computer" every time and if they don't see it, they demand additional authentication each time.

[Thaimaishoe]

Download Linux Tails and make a bootable USB stick. Boot ANY computer from that, and do your banking. When you shut down there will be no hint of your presence on the computer you used, and Tails is about as secure as you are going to find for the actual connection.

Read further here...

https://tails.boum.org/

and act accordingly.

Interesting but doesn't seem good for banking. Bank sites notice when you change computers. They expect the same "home computer" every time and if they don't see it, they demand additional authentication each time.

Well, I'm not sure if its geared towards the homosexual community or not (not from your post I realize, but...) but additional verification should really not be viewed as a 'bad thing' should it?

Now for the longer reply. I am not sure I agree banks notice when you change computers, ISP's, especially cable providers oftent do by monitoring the MAC addr, but it is not my experience that banks do. I do know for a fact that they look at the geolocation of your IP, which, since this uses the TOR network, will likely change a lot, possibly prompting additional security questions.

But again, how is that a bad thing? If you do not remember your 'additional' security questions it could be quite the PITA, but all that takes is a phone call to the 800 number to sort it (been there done that) It is a less convinient thing, but usually the more security the less convinience.

Again, the OP is willing to set up a new computer to do his banking, this is a "New" computer on a USB stick, designed for security.

[phazey]

Hmmm, the OP already has a computer. why not run a virtual machine with something like VirtualBox. Have the drive image on an encrypted usb stick for extra security. I have to do something like this for my companies payroll system, which is sadly windows only.....

[Jiu-Jitsu]

It is easy to install and activate Windows, without the need for dodgy hacks or cracks. It appears that the Thai Techs either don't know or prefer to utilise as little energy as is possible.

[Lefty]

Jing,

I am also very security conscious and do all my financial transactions online using Win7; for security I use:

Zonealarm for firewall-free

Bit Defender-viruis/malware has increased security when logged onto any financial site,defeats keyloggers, was on sale for about $30,regular about $70.00

Lastpass for generating secure passwords -simple to use.free

ExpressVPN-ABOUT $5.00/Month

Using the above you should be able to sleep well.

Lefty

[loloal]

Didn't read the last posts but you might also run some Ubuntu or other OS from a USB key / hard drive on your regular computer. Correct me if I'm wrong but you would have a totally independent environment without the need to buy another computer.

And transportable.

With the speed of current USB systems, I think it's totally worth it.

Just avoid connecting this usb drive to the computer when your usual windows is running, if you're paranoid. And save some hundreds bucks.

Edited December 4, 2014 by loloal