- Location
- Inside my skull
Are you at high risk of kidnapping?
Password managers
- Thread starter roubaixtuesday
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Are you at high risk of kidnapping?
nogoodnamesleft
Senior Member
I visit places where it is a risk. Very easy sometimes when you are tired to make a slip eg one time at end of 24 hr bus trip arrived in La Paz at 03:00 am (in darkness) locals all had lifts so only me and tired and taxi waiting, nearly got in but asked to check driver's taxi license and wasn't a genuine taxi but fake taxi. Might have been somebody after some cash but big risk if you chance it. Similar in many other cities.
The risk is mainly "express kidnapping " the express being relevant form ie you are pretty safe but over a few days will lose all your money, and be taken daily to ATMs, etc.
- Location
- Inside my skull
Then just do things differently for those trips. I presume they are not weekly or more than once a month. For instance, how many times have you been in La Paz this year?
Perfectly okay to travel without a smartphone or remove password and banking apps for the duration.
nogoodnamesleft
Senior Member
Increasingly difficult. Financially a lot of banks using OTPs and you need a phone for that ( I don't have enough on my cards for a trip so have to manage cards as I travel). Generally go to such places maybe one trip a year so I'd be continually reconfiguring my security which becomes a complete nuisance.
Getting your account removed from online banking is a real nuisance. I don't use online banking (neither web nor apps) but when one of my banks started online they enabled my account on it and getting it taken off was difficult as they'd never done it that way round before.
A lot of booking hostels these days (at least for 1st night) is online. In India, buses are all small operators sometimes even without an office (at least in your departure city) and you book and pay online then meet the bus some weird place eg corner of two streets or dome car park. On one trip only got to find where to meet the bus when the operator telephoned me in the afternoon before travelling overnight. Not all hotels even have WiFi ...
- Location
- Inside my skull
Once a year and you just set it up on a tablet before you leave at home, and deactivate on phone. If you are determined to take the phone with active banking app to riskier areas; then risk is higher than your password app if you get kidnapped.
nogoodnamesleft
Senior Member
Why is this so hard?
Banks won't/can't send OTPs (SMS text messages) to a tablet.
As I said above I don't use online banking, neither websites not apps.
To activate things like WhatsApp (or local equivalent) you need a phone number.
etc.
I'm quite happy with my security yet you seem determined to tell me how I should travel and without knowing the constraints of the places I travel to or the way I travel.
- Location
- Inside my skull
Because the aversion to pass phrases does not make sense as you have explained it. Perhaps you can give an example scenario where you have been kidnapped and they empty your bank account. How does this play out, in ways it could not with passwords?
nogoodnamesleft
Senior Member
Lose your phone and you lose access to those sites you need access to. Use a password and lose your phone and you can still get into the online stuff.
I am happy with my security and was pointing out potential risks that might impact others.
I give-up. This is complete madness. You want to change how I travel (without even properly reading my posts eg I explicitly stated I don't use online banking (neither web nor apps) to which you said "If you are determined to take the phone with active banking app to riskier areas"
Basically having you passkeys on the same device as details you might have eg your banking app represents a potential vulnerability.
I'm off to explore the forum "Ignore" ...
- Location
- Inside my skull
But which none banking websites do you absolutely need to log into in La Paz on holiday once a year? You would only lose access till back home assuming your password manager does not have a browser version. If it has the latter, you do not lose access at all.
Besides in same scenario you lose your SMS texts from the bank. How would you handle that?
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nogoodnamesleft
Senior Member
When you are travelling for 4+ months "till back home" is not adequate. As I repeatedly say, I'm happy with my security when travelling, limited exposure to loss and means to recover.
- Location
- Inside my skull
Then you have an encrypted password manager accessible through a browser.
With no access to OTP (SMS) from your bank for 4 months.
How often are you away from home for 4 months. Is this every year?
nogoodnamesleft
Senior Member
Why? I can remember the passwords that represent a vulnerability? (as I said previously).
As I said earlier i tend to head travelling most years (getting bit tired having to repeat myself). Sometimes things can get in the way eg after getting to Burma Covid started and headed home after 3 months. Another trip Mum refused to go to her consultant appointment unless I took her so had to come home after 4½ months.
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- Location
- Inside my skull
Because the most likely scenario is those sites get hacked together with your easy to remember vulnerable passwords. With pass phrases that hack cannot happen. But your risk, so we will leave it here.
nogoodnamesleft
Senior Member
I didn't say they were easy passwords, just easy for me to remember how to extract them form something else I can remember. Eg when I phone my UK bank and they ask me for digits 1, 2 and 4 from my telephone PIN code I have to ask them to wait whilst I do the necessary maths on another number. Only I know the math algorithm to extract the real number and the constants in the calculation.
But it's in my head.
And even if somebody knew the number, my exposure is limited by other means.