secure wifi when traveling

[NXR]

Originally Posted by mac1_131

If you are good about using different passwords for everything and pay attention that a site is https before you type in any personal information, you really should be OK.

And not finding web sites that you login to by using a search engine. I'm still shocked by how many people just type a name into the browser address bar or use a search engine and assume that the top hit will be the one they want, even if it looks completely different than in the past.

Ray

[rragsdale77]

Originally Posted by NXR

I lead the operational cybersecurity teams for a large regional bank and a national insurance company. Not audit and compliance, real "Keep the hackers and criminals out" work.

I do not work in compliance and audit as well. The teams that roll up to me Cloud Security, Data Protection, Building our Zero Trust strategy, and the Palo Firewall team. We have a little over 600 firewalls. So I too work at keeping the real hackers out. Looks like you must do something along the same lines as I do.

Originally Posted by NXR

They can be a VPN but only from you to them. Every bit of traffic from them to the destination is only as secure as the destination makes it. There was (at least) one that got caught installing their own root certificate on client computers so they could decrypt everything. When caught, they claimed it was for "optimization".

So true, I do not trust anything commercial that claims to be VPN when it is just a proxy.

Originally Posted by NXR

ALL commercial VPN services meet that description. They are the biggest thing in "security theater", doing something that is solely for show. They actually are a single point of failure and a single choke point where massive amounts of traffic can be seen and tracked.

Yep, they will say "end to end encryption" but will not tell people that they are TLS busting. Also just the fact that those servers could be compromised.

Originally Posted by NXR

But so-called "security experts" recommend them even though the vast majority of sites are HTTPS now.

Yep, I feel that some of these companies will do anything to make a dollar.

[Alben]

If you are using a wireless hot spot through a phone carrier, you are no more subject to hacking or data sniffing than if you were at home with your local broadband carrier.

The idea that public WiFi sites are a problem is a bit dated. Most, but not all, websites use https (the secure version of http). You can tell you have a secure connection when you see the lock symbol in the address bar next to the website. Heck, even this website, forestriverforums.com, is using https.

Probably the only time you would need to worry is if you were using some antiquated POP or IMAP email service with no encryption.

[camp2day]

Originally Posted by jkoenig24

You don't say what phone / carrier / plan you have. Those details make a huge difference. Many RVers have two (or more) carriers and phones. One I use is VISIBLE. Visible is a Verizon MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator; there are many other MVNOs). Visible STARTS at $40 / month BUT, if you join a party pay group, the rate drops to $25 / month for UNLIMITED 4G & 5G Talk, Text AND data. This is on Verizon towers (of which there are many across the country). Users who join a party pay are responsible ONLY for their own account, NEVER for anyone else in their party pay group. If you'd be interested in joining a party pay group, send me a PM and I'll reply with an invitaion link. Those fees (either $40 or $25) are COMPLETE. NO extra "taxes, fees, surcharges" added on.

Same here. Been using Visible for over a year now without a problem. We have 4 lines in our household and the phone hotspot is the only wifi we have for laptops, tablets and tv. Perfect for use while camping since we have our phones with us anyway. Of course you need to be where Verizon has a good signal, which is almost everywhere we go.

[ARhappycamper]

Originally Posted by yukongold

Thanks everyone for the answers.


I purchased this "smart" phone about six months ago in anticipation of this upcoming trip. I wanted time to deal with any learning curve. And I was right - - I am still struggling to figure it all out. I hate it but will need it to pay utility bills, check email, make reservations and such while we are away. I really, really miss my simple flip phone but I couldn't connect to internet with it and it was 3G anyway and 3G is being done away with. While at home I use the phone as a phone - - I call people and people call me. I do not text, I do not stream, I do not play on social media. (I anticipate that changing while on this trip) The only "data" used is occasional checking for an address or something similar when I am out and about. I have only 2GB or something of "data" with my plan.


It appears that this is the general theme - - for (more) secure internet connections, the easiest way (for most) is their phone connection. I will have to check to see if I can get "unlimited" data on a month to month basis and see how to use the phone as a hotspot for the laptop I will be taking with us.


(BTW ARhappycamper - - will be staying several days at Iron Mtn Campground on DeGray Lake near Arkadelphia. Any tips, hints, suggestions while there? )

It's a beautiful lake. That's all I got. Never stayed there. Best hint is to not stay in the flatlands or Delta may thru sep. Skeeters will carry you off !

[ARhappycamper]

Your best bet is an iPhone with unlimited data, a strong 4 or 5g signal, and use the phone as a hotspot. As secure as it gets.

[missonyxk9]

Another Visible user here. It's on Verizon towers (4g LTE & 5g) $25/mo unlimited data. You do need to be in a "party" of at least 4 to get the $25/mo rate which is easy enough - pick one of us on the forum already using Visible (your bill is your own, it's not a family plan), add 3 other lines from your own family (even though it's not a family plan), or go to Visible party pay facebook group and join an existing party of other strangers. That is actually what I did and then my cousin later added 2 lines to the same party and I think all it said was that she joined our party and that was all the info you get. Everyone pays their own bill.

[hanniba2]

I also have the WiFi Ranger that came with my camper. I have been 100% unsuccessful in making this device work. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by hanniba2

I also have the WiFi Ranger that came with my camper. I have been 100% unsuccessful in making this device work. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What type of WiFi source are you trying to connect to? Cell phone hotspot, home WiFi, campground WiFi?

[hanniba2]

Campground WiFi.

[charles l]

Originally Posted by rragsdale77

I work for a fortune 200 corporation in health care. I run the Cyber Security Engineering team. I only say this to show I have some knowledge on the matter.

I would steer clear of commercial VPN services such. They are not actually a VPN, which is a virtual private network. They are simply a proxy service that could be TLS busting your traffic and even if they are not your traffic is ingressing into a server that is sharing traffic with other customers which does not make it actually private.

I call a spade a spade. So when I see a company selling a VPN which is not really a VPN but a proxy I get a little nervous.

Thia is my opinion: Have your own VPN setup, use something like the WIFI Ranger, purchase something like The RV It Guy service, or use your hotspot.

I have a WIFI Ranger as a backup if needed but I use The RV It Guy service as my primary.

Thanks,
Rick

I hope I am not imposing on the post. It is the same topic as the original.

I have Bitdefender VPN. Are you saying it is not good? I have been using it for several years coast to coast with no issues so far. I have little personal knowledge of how it works. I will get an occasional warning about blocked attempts of a hack. I do know every time I log on it uses a different IP address. Is this sufficient for use while travelling? Thanks.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by missonyxk9

Another Visible user here. It's on Verizon towers (4g LTE & 5g) $25/mo unlimited data. You do need to be in a "party" of at least 4 to get the $25/mo rate which is easy enough - pick one of us on the forum already using Visible (your bill is your own, it's not a family plan), add 3 other lines from your own family (even though it's not a family plan), or go to Visible party pay facebook group and join an existing party of other strangers. ...

To be clear to others, subscription information is entirely private from other party members, including whoever started it. I'm in a 500+ member party organized on Reddit. I have no idea who they are and don't care. The larger the group, the less it's likely to drop below the required threshold of 4 to get the discount.

[camp2day]

Another plus for Visible is their bring a friend referral deal. Share your referral code with a friend when they sign up and both of you get a $5 month bill. You can do this for up to 12 months. I think I ended up with 3 or 4 months. Great deal

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by camp2day

Another plus for Visible is their bring a friend referral deal. Share your referral code with a friend when they sign up and both of you get a $5 month bill. You can do this for up to 12 months. I think I ended up with 3 or 4 months. Great deal

I should have thought about that earlier this week when I added a line to use as a dedicated hotspot. As each requires a unique email address, I could have referred myself.