Re: Need Advice on Wireless internet bill paying while boondocking
- From: bonomi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Robert Bonomi)
- Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:08:23 -0000
In article <0OCdnSZux7cmaizanZ2dnUVZ_tijnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
Tom A <inamellamot@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Greetings All, We are going to do some camping in semi-boondocking type
places. We would like to be able to pay bills and such by wireless internet.
Not having a laptop yet will do some shopping for what is needed for the
project. SOoo.. I am shure someone out there is doing just what we want to
do, Would you be so kind as to give us a hint as to what equiptment is
needed? Guess we need a wireless ready laptop? Type? Can this be done with
a blackberry? Have a cell phone but never have used it for internet
connections, I mention this because I read that a celluar phone can be used
for a wireless internet connection to a laptop. I haven't a clue how that
works yet. In short can anyone give us a short list of what to buy for our
camping wireless internet?
Thanks, Tom A
You've got a lot of questions, and not much knowledge (yet).
There are several ways to access the Internet while travelling.
Many public libraries have computers you can use -- although typically for
very limited amounts of time.
*LOTS* of places have "Wi-Fi" access for the world at large to use -- some
(e.g. Barnes & Noble, Starbucks) require that you pay (typically around five
dollars a day) for it, _many_ offer it to customers for free (free places
include -- not necessarily at all locations -- Panera Bakery Stores, Cosi
Sandwich Shops, a fair number of RV parks, some McDonalds and Burger King
joints, a fair number of 'independent' {non-chain Starbucks competitor} coffee
bars, etc.). This is a short-range radio link, "designed" to be usable for
distances of only a few hundred feet from the base station, or "access point".
To use "Wi-Fi" access, you need a laptop computer and the appropriate hardware
for it. All the necessary software is already in place. Practically all
modern laptops have the Wi-Fi hardware built in. If you get a very low-end
one that does not have support built-in, you can buy an 'external' adapter
for around $50.
Note: you -don't- have to have any sort of fixed access at home (or wherever)
to use Wi-Fi. You _may_ have some issues accessing resources provided _by_
your 'at home' services provider -- some of those things are accessible only
from IP addresses that are 'internal' to their network; others require a
DIFFERENT means of access if you are "somewhere else". This applies _only_
to services offered by your ISP *themselves*, e.g. e-mail.
The other common method involves using the cellular telephone network as a
data connection. Some cell phones have the capability built in, and all you
need is the 'magic' cable to your computer. Otherwise there is a 'card' that
you can plug into the laptop, that functions as a cellular 'data' interface.
With either device, you have to have a cellular account, the device in question
has to be compatible with _your_ cellular provider, *and* you pay a monthly
fee for the 'data' capability.
Lastly, _yes_ you can do this stuff with a BlackBerry, or a Treo, or another
'internet enabled' PDA. These all use the cellular network as the data
connection, and all the stuff above, about a cell provider, compatibility,
and the additional data charge, apples to these devices as well.
Your bill-paying is going to be done on a web-site run by 'somebody else'
(*NOT* your ISP) -- your bank, the credit-card issuer, the merchant you're
paying, etc. These services are accessed identically -- from 'wherever you
happen to be' -- to the way you access them from home. Same custom software,
if needed, same URL, same username/password, etc.
One other thing to be aware of, is 'security' of the information you're
sending.
It's a _BAD_IDEA_(tm) to send any 'sensitive' information over a public-access
(like 'at the library') computer. You just "don't know" whether or not it
is infected with 'bad stuff'. Even if you're using a secure, encrypted,
connection to the remote web-site, it is *possible* for malicious software
on that 'untrusted' machine to capture things like credit-card numbers,
*before* the encryption occurs. OOPS! <wry grin>
A BlackBerry, Treo, or other internet-enabled PDA is *VERY*UNLIKELY* to
have similar problems. All BlackBerries, at least, require that any
program that (a) interacts with another program on the device, or (b)
uses any routines that allow it to communicate with the outside world,
be cryptographically signed in a manner that uniquely identifies the author
of that program to RIM (BlackBerry's manufacturer). If the code isn't
'signed', it won't run on _any_ BlackBerry. To 'sign' the code, you have
to have registered with the manufacturer, and received a unique ID, which
you send back (along with a copy of the code itself) to get the required
signature. I assume Treo has similar 'systemic' protections. Since the
bill-pay web-sites use 'secure' connections, you basically don't have to
worry about somebody 'en route' capturing sensitive information.
Using your own PC is _far_ less risky than a public-access computer, but
somewhat higher risk than something like a BlackBerry. By any of various
means it is _possible_ for malicious software to get installed on the PC.
If one practices 'safe hex', uses quality anti-virus/anti-spyware software,
along with a 'firewall', *AND* does not let oneself get "talked into"
changing any of the various security settings, the chances of such
malicious software 'getting in' are _very_small_. But it requires _constant_
awareness of the risks, and -never- over-riding the security settings unless
you are *absolutely*sure* of (a) the _actual_ source of the request, (b) the
reason why the request is being made, (c) the necessity of doing so.
I may be belaboring the obvious here, but it is also important to keep in
mind that just because something "says" it from a certain ("trusted") source
does *NOT* mean that is really _is_ from that place.
I could pontificate at length on the 'operational' things one needs to to
to _ensure_ ones machine remains free of malicious software. The effort
required to *keep* a Windows machine 'secure' is way, WAY, higher than it
should be -- it -can- be done, but constant vigilance is needed.
I'm not particularly enamored of Apple, but if you don't _need_ MS-Windows
compatibility, and security is important to you, spending the money on a
Mac will buy a _lot_ of 'piece of mind', and not require nearly as much
ongoing effort.
Regardless, the PC is as safe as the PDAs with regard to information being
intercepted 'on the wire' (or wireless) between your PC and the web-site,
for exactly the same reasons described for the PDA.
.
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