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Posted by bjn on May 6, 2006, 8:04 am
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wrote:
>My credit card number was recently compromised, probably through an on-line
>merchant, although there is no way of knowing. I've suffered no loss and of
>course the bank has changed my number. The whole affair has forced me to
>think about security much more seriously however.
>
>I maintain Quicken 2005 on my main desktop machine and run it in parallel on
>my laptop. The files contain my credit card number. I think they must if
>statement downloads are to work properly. If physical access to either of
>these machines is obtained by a thief those accounts are compromised; I
>wouldn't be surprised to find my social security number somewhere in the
>machines also. The laptop is of course more vulnerable to theft or loss.
>
>What to do? How secure is Quicken file encryption? If it's like WORD or
>EXCEL there are easily available password crackers which open encrypted
>files, sometimes in a matter of minutes.
>
>Good wishes to all. Advice & information will be gratefully received.
I haven't read through all the answers to your query yet, but here goes...
Make sure your PCs are secure from trojans, spyware and other malware. Your
credit card may have been lifted by spyware running on your own PC.
Store your Quicken data (and any other critical data) on an encrypted
drive. Don't rely on Windows' built-in encryption and security.
Microsoft takes too many shortcuts in the security realm.
Some security products that may be useful in encrypting your data:
Steganos Security Suite
http://www.steganos.com/?product=sss2006&layout=web2005&language=en
I use Steganos Safe
http://www.steganos.com/?layout=web2005&content=products_safe&language=en
Open source disk encrypter (runs on Windows and Linux)
http://www.truecrypt.org/
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