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Please help us with a fraud situation

We had some identity thefts situations with our credit cards and Bank
accounts.
People using our credit cards and writing checks against our account.

How can I set up a really secure internet connection in my home ?

I use a Windows XP - wireless laptop to access the internet I have
in my home.
We use Comcast cable.
We have a WPA secure internet. We use a Netgear Rangemax MIMO
and the Comcast modem.

Somehow some people have managed to get both our credit card numbers
and bank account numbers and even driving license number.

I use this internet to access all our bank accounts etc.

Because of the fraud that occurred, we want to make sure that
we have a really secure internet connection.

What additional hardware, software etc do I need, if any ?
Since I am not a techie, pls help me with as much detail as possible.


Thanks in advance for your help,

Irfan Smith

it is possible that the machine is already compromised by something
you have downloaded. spyware, malware, phonehomeware, keyloggers,
phishing. and it is possible that this is not computer related and
is dumpster divers. if it is "wireless fraud" - what makes you so
certain this is the reason?

you should really disconnect from the Internet completely and turn
off wireless until you resolve the issue. you should close your
checking account and open a new one. same with the credit cards.

have you reported to the police? called the 3 credit watch
companies? start here

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/


No way of knowing what is on your computer so I'd start fresh. as
for setting up a secure connection, I'd start with a clean computer
(format the hard drive and start fresh with a clean install). I'd
use Windows Firewall, a good anti virus, make sure the router had an
enabled SP1 firewall, and I'd use WPA2 with a strong random key.

On Tue, 27 May 2008 20:07:05 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>Please help us with a fraud situation
>
>We had some identity thefts situations with our credit cards and Bank
>accounts.
>People using our credit cards and writing checks against our account.
>
>How can I set up a really secure internet connection in my home ?
>
>I use a Windows XP - wireless laptop to access the internet I have
>in my home.
>We use Comcast cable.
>We have a WPA secure internet. We use a Netgear Rangemax MIMO
>and the Comcast modem.
>
>Somehow some people have managed to get both our credit card numbers
>and bank account numbers and even driving license number.
>
>I use this internet to access all our bank accounts etc.
>
>Because of the fraud that occurred, we want to make sure that
>we have a really secure internet connection.
>
>What additional hardware, software etc do I need, if any ?
>Since I am not a techie, pls help me with as much detail as possible.
>
>
>Thanks in advance for your help,
>
>Irfan Smith
--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

On Tue, 27 May 2008 20:07:05 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
>
>I use this internet to access all our bank accounts etc.
>
>Because of the fraud that occurred, we want to make sure that
>we have a really secure internet connection.
>

The connection between your computer and the bank is already securely
encrypted (by your browser and the bank's web server) regardless of
whether your computer is wired or wireless so I wouldn't suspect
that's the problem.

If it is a wireless problem it is far more likely that someone has
gained user access to your network and your files rather than someone
listening in on your transactions. Use a minimum encryption of WPA-PSK
with a long passphrase to prevent that type of unauthorised access.

Likelier still is what Mrs Bowman suspects. Malware, keyloggers etc.
Nothing to do with wireless.



Jim.

Hi
It is really hard to explain on a newsgroup the whole gamut of issues, and
how to deal with computer security.
You should by reading a good book talk to knowledgably friends and or ask a
security consultant.
If after doing the initial legwork you have a specific question then an
answer cam be provided in a forum like this.
Technically it should start with this.
Internet -Basic protection: http://www.ezlan.net/firewall.html
Assemble Freeware Security suit for Internet Connection:
http://www.ezlan.net/security.html
Wireless Security - http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html
Jack (MVP-Networking).

<> wrote in message
news:87d2b99d-37dc-4973-9292-...
> Please help us with a fraud situation
>
> We had some identity thefts situations with our credit cards and Bank
> accounts.
> People using our credit cards and writing checks against our account.
>
> How can I set up a really secure internet connection in my home ?
>
> I use a Windows XP - wireless laptop to access the internet I have
> in my home.
> We use Comcast cable.
> We have a WPA secure internet. We use a Netgear Rangemax MIMO
> and the Comcast modem.
>
> Somehow some people have managed to get both our credit card numbers
> and bank account numbers and even driving license number.
>
> I use this internet to access all our bank accounts etc.
>
> Because of the fraud that occurred, we want to make sure that
> we have a really secure internet connection.
>
> What additional hardware, software etc do I need, if any ?
> Since I am not a techie, pls help me with as much detail as possible.
>
>
> Thanks in advance for your help,
>
> Irfan Smith