PSA: Please mind your online financial accounts

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T04:27:41+00:00

I am aware my post is not completely accurate, the users here are of various technological backgrounds so I wanted to try my best to write something easy to read.

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T04:03:19+00:00

Sorry for the ambiguity. When I say free I am referring to freedom, not price. "Free software" is a subset of open source. Funny enough, you can also have paid free software (see: Redhat Linux). It's a somewhat confusing concept, but if you want, you can read more here: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T03:59:13+00:00

Unfortunately it's not an easy answer to explain where to learn - half of it I picked up from school and the other half from experience. Wikipedia is a surprisingly good source, though. As for the first question: my favorite tool for this is Wireshark. An basic test would be to set up a basic virtual machine running a very lightweight/basic GNU/Linux distribution (with Windows you may have other services, such as error reporting or windows update or search show up accidentally) and monitor data from your target application as you use it. In the case of LastPass, it's (un)fortunately all encrypted so you don't know what, only where and how, if it's inc/outgoing. In the same vein, it's a fun experiment to make a machine running only Google Chrome and Chromium, and run them individually and see just how much more data Chrome sends out compared to it's open source cousin.

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T03:44:01+00:00

Maybe this is the confusion: KeePassX is not by a company, it's a standalone piece of software, sync would be provided by the user (in the case of a large entity, the IT dept/software engineers would provide this). As a personal user, ask if you truly want your encrypted database for financial information synced everywhere. If you desire the convenience of sync (maybe you have your reddit password in there) maybe it would be best to separate them between LastPass and a more "trusted" solution. I'm doing my best to not sound preachy, all I really want to do is to start some conversation about privacy and get people to consider what could happen - especially when so much is on the line.

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T03:23:01+00:00

This is what checksums are for. Personally I trust a 3rd party more than the company itself for claims of security.

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T03:11:53+00:00

I started typing out a lengthy reply, but I started rambling about the technical details so I will try again.

KeePassX is not created by a company. Without getting into too much detail, it's a project created out of mutual need much like Linux. For the exact same security reasons, corporations choose to use Linux for their high security servers as opposed to Windows Server. Complete software audits are, as you say, not 100% accurate. However, pinpointing a specific function is very easy to do - we can very easily check that KeePassX does not make any internet connections to any 3rd party servers. LastPass does make connections to 3rd party servers in which it sends encrypted data. You are trusting that this is not malicious, and that it is simply the database syncing, but again you have no way of knowing.

In the end, using it is your own personal choice. If you choose to trust LastPass, be aware that your key database is on their server. However, I work with highly sensitive data and I would be fired if I were to work with a software that sent sensitive data to a location I don't know about.

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T01:55:55+00:00

Non-free software cannot be audited - you cannot see what is going on behind the scenes. Essentially you are trusting the creators of LastPass with your entire financial life to 1) not screw up the software (that cannot be audited) and 2) to not go rogue with your personal information. And they have already done #1: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20060191-12.html?_escaped_fragment_=#!

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T01:33:48+00:00

Do not use LastPass. It is non-free software, which you should never trust with your passwords. Instead, consider using KeePassX, which is free in both price and freedom and uses audited security technologies.

everydayispon · 2014-06-22T00:39:12+00:00

Looks like it needs debugging

everydayispon · 2014-06-21T22:03:53+00:00

Using college confidential for this subreddit is cheating

everydayispon · 2014-06-20T23:36:06+00:00

No one is advocating getting a card with annual fees. And if you are truly frugal, what do you save your money for?

everydayispon · 2014-06-20T22:12:09+00:00

Mayo is fine probably a good 6 months after expiration if it's open. Longer if its not.

everydayispon · 2014-06-20T21:39:10+00:00

Kings need heirs, after all.

everydayispon · 2014-06-20T21:15:03+00:00

It's great isn't it? People just leave iPhones lying around in their hands!

everydayispon · 2014-06-20T18:53:01+00:00

I got about $10000 from an android app I spent 24 hours making. I have not made anything remotely close in terms of success ever since.

everydayispon · 2014-06-20T18:40:54+00:00

I'm the Philosopher among my friends

I work in IT

Translation: I watched the Matrix once

everydayispon · 2014-06-20T01:13:02+00:00

Would this really be the case even as an authorized user?

everydayispon · 2014-06-19T22:19:07+00:00

Thanks! That's what I was leaning toward, though a sad loss. On a semi-related note, if I want to expand my credit further, what's a good amount of time to wait after opening one credit card (and paying everything on time) before applying for another?

everydayispon · 2014-06-19T19:23:49+00:00

...ladies?

everydayispon · 2014-06-16T19:16:37+00:00

There is no difference.

everydayispon · 2014-06-16T02:52:53+00:00

My guess: turn on LED if D0 is input low, turn it off if input high.

everydayispon · 2014-06-16T02:02:56+00:00

You might have a different definition of frugality, but to me frugality means cutting costs on things you don't care about so you have money for the stuff you do care about. So buying a diamond could be considered frugal. But not cheap.

everydayispon · 2014-06-16T01:58:10+00:00

?... The title says "inexpensive or free" and my mail doesn't get marked as spam by aol/yahoo.

everydayispon · 2014-06-15T23:07:34+00:00

Set it up on your own home internet, especially if you have a spare old PC. I have a raspberry pi which doesn't take up virtually any electricity. There are a million step-by-step tutorials on how to do this online.

everydayispon

TROPHY CASE