You appear to folks to be rather bright, but realize that you are not

When the phone is first turned on, the page that appears has a lock icon in the center bottom. I swipe the page upward to get the home page. There, I see the already installed 'apps' like Chrome and phone and messages ,

I already made and received a phone call and even succeeded in sending a text to my basic (flip) phone.

When I purchased this on Sunday at Walmart, the phone and battery were separate. I put in the battery and put the back cover on. The closure was so supremely effective that there is not a trace of how to re-open the back. It is almost as if when closed, the battery is then not ever removable.

I still am searching for the settings icon so that I can see how much data I have left. I had installed a 3 GB card for $30 on Sunday. That probably was too much, as I am still on WiFi with my Samsung Chromebook. But I wanted to be certain.

Does anyone know if Comcast (Xfinity) has a prepaid situation whereby one can gain access to their hot spots everywhere by paying in advance and possibly using a password? I am trying to determine which route I want to go: either highly restrictive mobile phone access (small keyboard) or Chromebook which is a heck of a lot easier to type on.

I am looking for secure Internet access and it would make a huge difference to me if I were not restricted to my tiny efficiency for such access. What I have NOW is really great: Xfinity ON DEMAND and I can use it anywhere with my Cromebook. But that is being discontinued on 17 DEC. Why, I do not know, but I was paying $55 per month. You would think that they could make a profit on that.

I have looked for the gear (settings) button and cannot find it, but, being that I already KNOW that this symbol is for settings, I would know it if I saw it. I DO remember seeing this button when I fist got the phone, but I can no longer remember where I saw it. I want to be able to see how much data balance I have. This is getting to be a heroic feat.

I work in software. I am not a security expert, but I have worked with making sure passwords are secure. And I understand how these things work. Overconfidence is the biggest mistake you can make.

If I am going to break your passwords, I am going to gather all of the evidence I can... including any password I see you type, or anything written on your excel spreadsheet. Then I am going to start looking for patterns... everything is a clue... how many vowels there are, how many repeated numbers.

After I start noticing patterns, I can rule out different schemes. Remember that the hackers have all spent time thinking up different schemes and have learned schemes from other people.

So... let me just give this rule. Hackers are smarter than you think and are can find the clues you aren't aware you are giving them. The less information you give to the hackers the better.

There is a always a chance that a smart hacker can break your password scheme through some set of clues you never thought of. If you give them an Excel spreadsheet... even an disguised excel spreadsheet... you are giving them clues that makes their job easier.

FIRST, I am being restricted by the moderators with being told that I must wait many minutes (5 to 8) before I can continue to post. Why this is, I do not know but I wanted to inform everyone.

I finally got the 'home settings' tiny gear. But when I pull it down all I get are: notification dots, or add icon to home screen, or allow home screen rotation. Nothing more. No balance for my data.

I appreciate your logical and sane explanation. However, I don't give my password list to anyone, even for daring purposes. I regard my encrypted passwords just like AMEX used to ask people to treat Travelers Cheques: Like Cash. But, I promise you that there are no patterns and a lot has to do with things that are not even written in code. A lot of my password has to do with things that are not referenced.

I consider purchasing with credit cards to be pretty safe, even from my mobile. My credit card also offers temporary credit card numbers that are perfect for buying porn (or anything from a vender I don't trust). You set it up for a limited amount for one time... and then the number stops working.

Again... phones are set up with very good encryption. I trust it, as long as I trust the institution. I have no problem transferring money around using the banking app on my phone.

Credit cards are generally reasonably safe. If someone steals your number, you report it and the credit card company refunds the money. I had someone steal my physical card. I didn't realize it was missing until I had noticed a charge for a $200 gift card for a local burger joint (I don't know who the hell wants that... or if they sold it). The credit card canceled the card and gave me back the money no problem.

OK, I am going to temporarily leave now in order to try to figure out another molecule of information on my phone. This is just amazing how stupid I am. See you later.

I just found out how to get the 'settings' button, which, I just found out, is an 'app'. All I have to do is run my finger upward along the home page. It is that simple. Now I can determine my data usage.

Make sure you set the "first day of your billing cycle" correctly. Your phone just counts data used... if it doesn't match up with your billing cycle you might get the wrong answer.

You can also go to your account page on tracfone. They will give you a more accurate count of how much data you have used.

Yes, the instruction manual says that there might be a difference between what the phone theoretically calculates vs what the actual data use was.

maxdancona:

Do you know whether the phone is, at any particular time, using the mobile network (secure) versus a handy public WiFi? I don't want to put in passwords when I am public.

There are a bunch of tiny little icons at the top of your phone. They tell you whether you are connected to wiifi or not. The wifi symbol look like a slice of pie made out of horizontal lines... the 4g iconlooks like two arrows.

If you are using SSL encryption, your communication is secure even when you are on a public network. Even if you are using a network controlled by bad guys, they still can't steal anything.

This is a very big if... but SSL is secure.

In general, when I am using an app from a company I trust (i.e. my bank or credit cards) I don't worry.

I would love to KNOW what such encryption is. Remember, max, I am decidedly uninformed.

Max, I am simply going to the Chrome Internet app and putting in the URL. How could I know whether it is "SSL" or not? I appreciate both your knowledge and, especially, your patience, but I simply want to know if banking or buying on my phone is safe. I do not have the undercurrent of knowledge that I wish I had in order to make a prudent, safe decision.

All I hear is that mobile phones are 'safe'. I do not know if I am dealing with this 'SSL' or not. Sorry, but that intellect you have is way over my little head.

OK, on the top of my screen I see the following, on the top right, from left to right:
>>>A three-quarters circle with a plus sign in the center
>>>then, a 4G LTE icon
>>>then, a slice of pie (seems to vary, indicating to me that it might be a reading of the varying power of the (public WiFi?) signal). How did that signal get into my apartment?
>>>then a battery symbol, seemingly indicating amount of current left
>>>then a percentage readout for battery life remaining.

MAX, it seems to me that I am NOT receiving mobile carrier Internet here, because I do not have the two arrows you speak of. Does that mean that in my apartment it is NOT safe to do banking and buying? Despite this, my data usage does keep getting more and more. It is now about 90 mb. I have a whole 3 GB available for the month of DEC, but, despite being NOT on the carrier's Internet, the data keeps getting used. Confused about this.

The 4G LTE is the carrier's internet (it is a different icon than I have, but they are allowed to do that). You are using this data. 90MB is about 3% of 3GB. If you use 90MB a day you will have enough for 33 days (which is more than a month). It seems like you are OK.

Yes, the slice of pie is the Wifi strength. You must have something close. If you have a local open wifi you don't have to pay for, count your blessings .

You are safe doing banking if you use the App of a reputable bank.

1. Encryption is cool I can explain in more technical detail if you want on any of these points.

2. On chrome, I see a little lock icon next to the address for "able2know.org". This means that I am using SSL. It also means that if the owners of able2know aren't doing anything stupid (and I believe they aren't) that my communications with Able2know, including my password, is secure. This means that no one else can read my private messages etc.

3. The main difficulty with encryption is the "Man in the middle attack". This means I intercept your wifi.. and I would say "Hi David, I am your bank what is your password". You would type in your password. Then I would go to your bank and say "Hi bank, I am David... here is my password". Then I would pass the information from the bank back to you. From then on I would be passing message back and forth between you and your bank (and have all of your information and the ability to steal your password or simply change information).

4. SSL has a way to prevent man in the middle attacks even if I intercept all of your wifi. It involves asymmetric cryptography using a "certificate". This is very cool math, it allows you to know who you are talking to without actually passing your "cryptographic key". I will explain this more if you want.

So basically... if you are using SSL... and the site is well engineered... you communication is secure. This is true whether you are using public wifi or not.

My opinion is that apps are more likely to be well-designed than webpages.

In short, if you have a reputable site, like a big bank or a credit card company or Amazon.. your communication on your cell phone is secure even over public wifi.

If you are buying porn or gambling from a small shady site, all bets are off.

From my Chromebook, when I log onto citi.com, it is preceded by https which I have been lead to understand that such letters mean that the website is secure. I get NO PADLOCK and I ask you how can I get that?

From my BLU View 1 phone when I log onto citi.com I DO get the padlock but NOT the https.

Which of these two different log ins are secure?

I already know about false websites with phishing attacks. But, like you said and like I have heard elsewhere, how do I avoid the Man in the middle. I assume through this SSL. But, Max, HOW do I load SSL into my phone or Chromebook?

If you can answer this ALSO: Whenever I type a password in my PHONE, each character appears briefly as I type, then turns into a dot. Can anyone ELECTRONICALLY eavesdrop on my phone screen and see that character and, in that piecemeal way, obtain my password?

Again, I know that the actual banking site is secure, but each typed password character DOES show up on my screen. When password characters are typed on my CHROMEBOOK, the are NEVER shown as actual; each character appears as a dot at ALL times.

Finally, HOW do I download a banking app?

Max, I know that I am taking advantage of your generosity. Thus, if at any time you wish to say 'enough is enough' I will not be offended.