Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Time to ditch Windows for online banking and shopping [UPDATED]

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | October 13, 2009, 9:59am PDT

Summary: It’s time to ditch Windows for online banking and shopping. There, I’ve said it.

It’s time to ditch Windows for online banking and shopping.

There, I’ve said it.

Last week, FBI Director Robert Mueller told an audience in San Francisco how he nearly fell for a bank phishing email. As a result of this Mueller now doesn’t do any banking on line.

Then Washington Post “Security Fix” columnist Brian Krebs advises businesses not to carry out online banking on Windows-based machines and to use a Linux-based LiveCD.

I’m going one step further, and suggest that no one use Windows for either banking or online shopping. Period.

So, am I saying this to be controversial? No. Am I attacking Windows or Microsoft? Am I trying to start a flame war? No.

So why am I saying this? Simply because I believe that the risk of using Windows outweighs the convenience. Sure, the overall risk of financial loss to a consumer is small given that federal law limits the consumer’s liability to $50, but having you bank details or credit card information compromised is a huge time-consuming hassle that people can do without.

It couldn’t be simpler.

Download a Linux ISO (my favorite is Ubuntu but there are loads of others to choose from).
Burn the ISO to CD (I recommend ImgBurn).
Pop the CD into your drive and boot up from the CD when you want to bank or shop … take a couple of minutes and it’s 100% safe since nothing can write to the CD).

This way not only are you protected from malware ands Windows-based vulnerabilities, you also protect yourself from phishing attacks by not using the Live CD for anything other than banking and shopping (no email, no Facebook/MySpace …). You boot into the Live CD, do what you want to do, and close the OS when you’re done.

Simple. Safe. Effective.

Note: I recommend that you burn a new CD every six months or so just to keep you on top of new releases and updates.

What about passwords? Simple! Grab yourself a USB flash drive and a copy of an app such as TrueCrypt and encrypt a text file containing your passwords (if you want you can create an encrypted partition on the USB key to store more data if you want).

Think this is too much hassle? I thought it would be, but I’ve been doing this for a few days now and it’s quick and simple and offers a great deal of peace-of-mind.

[UPDATE: Time to respond to some of the TalkBalk chatter:

Why not spend the time making Windows more secure?
I don't want to get caught up in the whole Windows vs. mac vs. Linux thing but this statement is ridiculous. Make Windows more secure than a read-only that you only use for critical stuff? Seriously ...
This doesn't protect against phishing ...
Well, if you separate email and browsing from banking, then it does ... a lot of readers seemed to have missed that. also, while the FBI director talked about phishing, his isn't the only threat facing online banking users. One thing that using a LiveCD for banking does is create a policy ... so if you ONLY visit your bank via the LiveCD OS, you're putting in place a policy that says you DON'T visit your bank via email links. Security is, after all, 90% good practice.
Microsoft Security Essentials will protect us ...
There's no phishing protection in MSE.
IE8 has a better phishing filter than Firefox ....
As tested by nsslabs, IE8's phishing filter had an 83% catch rate compared to Firefox's 80%. If you're willing to split hairs over a few percentage points but ignore the fact that the best phishing filter misses almost 1 in 5 phish attempts then your priorities are wrong.
It's a dumb waste of time ...
Each to his or her own I guess ... but I'm sure that many look at passwords in the same way. If some people were left to their devices they'd not have passwords.
It's security by obscurity, if Linux had a greater market share it would be targeted by hackers ...
Maybe, probably ... I don't know. However, you're overlooking the fact that you are working withing a read-only environment which adds a lot to your security.
It's a stop-gap measure ...
You bet! Just like locking your door or learning self defense, what you're doing is making the bad guys look for an easier, softer target. Nothing is perfect.
How about using a virtual machine rather than a Live CD?
It's an idea, but the OS inside the virtual machine wouldn't be read-only.
It's too much hassle ...
Suit yourself.
But I love Windows ... Wah! Wah! Wah!!!!
No one is asking you to give up on Windows, it's just augmenting Windows.

Keep your comments rolling it!]

Thoughts? I’m particularly interested in suggestions to improve the Live CD, a better choice of Live CD or tools for the USB key.

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Topics

Bank, CD, Online Banking, USB, Microsoft Windows, Phishing, Banking, Cyberthreats, Financial Services, Operating Systems, Software, Security, Spam And Phishing, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

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Because Linux is less popular .... (yay!)

darkonc 9th Apr

Great: so Linux has less malware (in part) because it's less popular. I don't care why it's more secure, just IF it's more secure. It's more secure, and it does the job -- argument over.

I could argue that, even if/when Linux becomes as popular as windows, it will still have less malware because it's got a better security design, but that's an entirely academic argument at the moment.

View in thread

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Instead of a live CD

Cylon Centurion 13th Oct 2009

Would I be able to install Linux in Windows and do the same?

Reply
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A VM Should be fine

Stuka 13th Oct 2009

While ultimately windows is handling the transport, Linux is the one doing the processing, and therefore should be fine.

Reply
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Problem with using a VM

NetAdmin1178 13th Oct 2009

The problem with your suggestion is that it still offers an OS that can be written to (without tweaking); this is no different than having a Linux install on a dual-boot system. Adrian's idea is that by using a LiveCD, you are secure in knowing nothing can modify your OS since a LiveCD is unable to be written to. There are ways to lock down a Linux installation so that it cannot be written to (such as modifying the OS partition in fstab with ro - read only) but I don't think it is something I'd want to try instructing a newbie to do.

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Valid Point

Stuka 13th Oct 2009

The LiveCD ultimately is the safest way.

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Re: VM usage

Dalelaurd 13th Oct 2009

Or just set the VM to rollback to the last snapshot every time you start up and/or shut down. No permanent changes to the VM that way.

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You'd have to dedicate the VM...

JCitizen 15th Oct 2009

to just that - online banking - otherwise it could be compromised just like the PC.

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Best of both worlds

frgough 13th Oct 2009

Boot your VM off a live CD image. It's a heck of a lot faster than using a physical CD and gives you the same protection.

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I agree

AndyCee 14th Oct 2009

Personally I'd hate to reboot every time I remembered I had to check my bank details.

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Very good idea... few additional thoughts

NetAdmin1178 14th Oct 2009

I must agree, that is a very good idea. Booting a CD from within a VM should guarantee the read-only environment we're looking for, and it is much more convenient to start-up the CD from within your currently running OS than rebooting your PC to boot a CD.

You could also boot the VM to a CD iso, rather than the CD itself. It should be even more responsive to work with (HDD files typically have faster access than optical media), and there's no wasted CD media when updates come out for the OS, just replace your iso with the new one. The only consideration I see at this time would be needing to safeguard that iso from being tampered with, since it would be potentially exposed while you're using your regular OS.

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Host OS keyloggers would pose a problem to this solution... (nt)

NetAdmin1178 14th Oct 2009

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iso exposed......

cymru999 Updated - 14th Oct 2009

...isnt that getting just a little too paranoid? The thing that concerns me is needing to this for online shopping because that is something I do hand in glove with everything else that I do - during a typical week I might make 20 or more purchases and as many other transactions - while I am working or doing other things - a fast PC with a virtual window running from an ISO seems the only sensible way forward. Mind you I buy a lot on ebay where I like to keep the auction open in one window while I work in another....it is an easy solution for someone who transacts occasionally but my life is totally intetwined with the internet - I cant remember the last time I went into town - I buy everything on line.

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Best...

kc117mx 14th Oct 2009

Thank you. That's exactly what I was thinking.

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Wouldn't the CD image be on writable media?

AzuMao 19th Jan 2010

More like worst of both worlds.

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Compromised host OS

balaknair 13th Oct 2009

If the host OS (Windows) is compromised, like say with a keylogger, wouldn't your online credentials still be stolen when using a Linux VM for transactions, since the keylogger can still monitor keystrokes?

I don't really know if this is possible, would appreciate if someone here could shed some light on this.

Thanks

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Yes,

VistroDotNet 14th Oct 2009

That's very possible. In fact, the ONLY key combo
that can't be hooked (captured by a keylogger) is
ctrl+alt+del.

Even if you are running a VM, a good keylogger
hooks the keys between Windows and the program you
are using, so yes, it would hook between Windows
and the VN.

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Hooking alt ctrl del

Troyr1 15th Oct 2009

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/winsdk/AntonioWinLock.aspx

Nuff Said!

and if people on the interweb can do it, you be that anyone else with malware or a rootkit can do it too.

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No..

AzuMao 19th Jan 2010

..a good keylogger is a driver (runs between
keyboard and OS), hooking everything.

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One way is using an I/O firewall..

JCitizen Updated - 15th Oct 2009

like Snoofree Privacy Shield. I've never seen a keylogger or video hook defeat it yet. In fact when I see it popup, I know I got undefined spyware on my XP system, and I keep trying different utilities until I catch the miscreant!

Snoopfree is free, but donations are made very difficult by the author. I do not work for any man or company - I just hate malware to pieces!

Microsoft should add something like this to the operating system, as well as the UAC! Of course they would probably violate Snoopfree's copyright.

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Microsoft do not have that excuse.

AzuMao 19th Jan 2010

Snoopfree owns no "copyright" on the general
concept of behavior-based heuristics. Nothing is
stopping Microsoft from making Windows have more
fine grained control over which programs are
allowed to do what.

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The HIPS in Comodo...

JCitizen Updated - 31st Jan 2010

is almost as good, but won't ID whether it is finding video/keyboard hooks, only file modifications.

I think Comodo's Defense + could be modified to report such input/output traffic. In fact the two utilities don't get along anymore.

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Virtual keyboard in the VM

Hansc1 7th Dec 2009

If the host is compromized with a key logger. The only safe way besides re-booting to a live CD would be to use a virtual keyboard inside the VM. This however does not completley protect a user if their infected PC also takes and sends screenshots of the VM that is activly being used.

Hans

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Use Browser VM or NX Technology is Great!

i2fun@... Updated - 13th Oct 2009

The problem with most LiveCD/DVD installs is that they forget information every time and require a reboot. The long answer is setting up a basic Linux box Firewall/Network Server on your Home Network (near any old PC will do for this purpose).

Install an NX Server in it and it can be just a Browser server at that (not complete Linux install although that's possible). Then you can use near any OS on your home network computers, to run a remote NX client Browser app in your present web browser. This puts your PC/Laptop into a remote location, sandboxed away from any harm and KDE/Konqueror Browser is great for this. It's what Chrome and Apple's Safari were built on.

Free Server and this is marvelous thin client technology that you can use for free on your home network on Windows or Linux! wink

http://www.nomachine.com/download.php

DOE uses NX Technology:
http://www.nomachine.com/news-read.php?idnews=283

There are also Secure Browser Appliance VM's that remain isolated while still retaining some memory features. They too are sandboxed from your OS, if set up properly. Yes, there are LiveCD's that retain memory on your hard drive that must be considered. But then you must go through the pain of a reboot.

Best answer though is just make the switch to Linux. The NSA (National Security Agency) wrote SecureLinux Kernel and it is now been integrated into the Linux kernel itself. The NSA only supplied a guide for Windows user, as they do not have access to Microsoft's proprietary code for rewrites of the kernel itself.

Linux user's are basically immune to the attacks so prevalent on Windows. They surf the web in a cocoon of security designed to be used by the most powerful computers on earth. It's common knowledge that NSA and IBM's Roadrunner (1.8PFLOPS)runs on Linux and nothing can touch it. Yes it's not connected to the web, but even if was, it's an embedded Linux OS that's hard coded into the hardware. It's virtually impossible to attack from outside!!! grin

Note and Warning: ActiveX and VBScript are the real culprits here. Since 2000, Microsoft has been warned about their inherent attributes to be abused. Nothing has been done to protect users. Only their own operating system software installs. If your bank or financial institution refuses to use more secure means for transaction, make the switch to one that does!!!

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Server is still vulnerable

NetAdmin1178 14th Oct 2009

While I must say that I think NX is excellent software (I use FreeNX, myself); we still have the same problem of an OS that can become vulnerable, and have malware installed into it. It does isolate the banking transactions from your regularly used OS, but since the server OS is writable, it is still vulnerable to highjacking.

Also - a side note to the free server version that NX offers - the free version does work great, but it is limited to 2 concurrent connections. I would suggest checking out FreeNX; it is based on the same code (NX is built on GPL source code, so it is freely available), but it does not carry the same 2 connection limitation.

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I wondered how long......

cymru999 14th Oct 2009

it would be before someone said use Linux - I have tried I really have - I spent two weeks back and fore on buletin boards trying to get my dual screen set up working the way I wanted - I almost did but had to settle for the same background pic on each and no task bar on the second screen (which I get with display fusion) - then I made the mistake of changing my graphics card!!! at first it took me three attempts ending up in safe mode to boot my system and of course all my two screen set up was gone - I couldnt face going through all that again - I just installed windows 7 in a little over an hour from scratch - it found all my hardware and set up my two screens in the most logical way with the right resolution without any intervention on my part. This is why people still prefer windows - why cant linux be so simple - why - because they are so tetchy about using proprietry drivers amongst other things!
however a live cd booted through virtual PC looks interesting - i will take the risk of keyloggers - life is about taking risks!

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You wondered?

daengbo 14th Oct 2009

You wondered how long it would be before someone said use Linux? Really? That's shocking considering that's what the story was about. You know? Using a live Linux CD for your banking.

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Another issue, perhaps

DannyO_0x98 13th Oct 2009

Couldn't a keylogger installed in the host grab keystrokes?

Whether or not that's true, I imagine a network sniffer installed in the
host could gather information watching network traffic come in and out,
and the more information the bad guys have, the easier it is for them to
social hack you.

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VM options too

Robert Crocker 13th Oct 2009

You could set it up so that all items written to the VM are transient and not stored on shutdown so that you'd be starting fresh each time.

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Good idea, change it slightly

VistroDotNet 14th Oct 2009

Just rolling back changes can't make sure changes
are not made while you are using it.

It would be best to make it so that it can't be
modified at all.

Any threats that creep their way into the OS can
start stealing **** instantly.

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This is not a good idea...

DevStar 13th Oct 2009

For a few reasons:
1) Being on CD hardly keeps you safe. Not many attacks require persisting to disk. For example buffer overflows happen in memory. The other common attack vector is XSS, which also doesn't rely on persisting to disk. This doesn't address either of those, and those are arguably the two most common attacks.

2) Since you're booting from disk you don't have a patched OS (and yes, even Linux needs to get patched). So you're going to boot from CD and then spend the next hour patchng before going online?

3) False sense of security. Given that this doesn't really protect you from anything, naive users will go around to web page ignoring the fact that they'll get owned horribly easy.

4) Driver support. When I do banking/shopping online, I like to print receipts (yes, the cloud can lose data... I know, hard to believe). I suspect this LiveCD won't work with the printer that I have. So then I have to go back to Windows to do things like print. And what if I'm buying stuff that I want to actually use on the Windows machine, like music or videos. Just another hassle.

This all seems like a waste of time, all for trying to prevent one of the least common attack vectors, but opening yourself up to new ones.

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Adrian's point ist missed by far...

ARyKaXaN 14th Oct 2009

1.- yes, every linux need be patched, but only makes sense if you are getting permanent use of that distro, for 10.20 minute "action" makes almost no sense at all, since any attacker will had little time to deploy any attack, and still, if you are not a end-utzer, update your livecd, "re-make & burn" that same livecd - updated.

2.- yes, users are very, extremely naive, and there's NO solution for than but education, as adrian puts REALLY clear, "...security ist 90% good practices...".

3.- VM? shure, (adrian's entire point is missed, but, let's give it a shot), what about proxy malware? (the kind of stuff used in some netbots), it sits, just between the OS (linux, MAC OSx and, yeah you guessed, windows) and the hardware, there's no way of knowing it's there or get rid of it (but to reisntall every 6 months max, wich takes me back to adrian's "policy" point.), same applies to keyloggers.

4.- there's no solution to human stupidity or naiveness, there's no perfect OS, there's no killer "patch", even if i'm currently liable for $50USD, mi personal data, ist by really far, more valuable than that.

so, grab that livecd, usb-boot, networkboot, even (if you are really, really geek), boot up from floppy, AS READONLY, just to add a very thin extra protection (hummm, i'm pretty shure i've heard that somewhere else... i think it was called condoms), tha may or may not, save you life or you valuable data.

tch?ss und aufwiedersehen

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Let's look

daengbo 14th Oct 2009

Let's look at these issues one by one:

1) Attacks. Most Linux OSes have no open ports by default, so buffer overflows aren't a concern and XSS attacks won't happen since the plan is to use the CD ONLY for banking and shopping.

2) Updates. Everything needs updates. Techies should make an updated Live CD once a month or so (Windows users would call it "slip-streamed, I believe). This process can be automated. Otherwise, follow Adrian's advice and get a new one every release -- six months. That's not quite as safe, but neither is it particularly dangerous.

3) Use the CD only for banking (and maybe shopping).

4) If your printer isn't supported, print to PDF on the Windows partition. Save your music and videos to disk (instead of leaving them in memory to be wiped on reboot).

I've been recommending this method to friends for years. It's quite safe for the purpose. It's also generally better for traveling backpackers hopping from one poorly-managed Internet cafe to the next.

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Hp support is good

PCLinuxOS(user) 22nd Oct 2009

If it is an hp it will

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Keyloggers

lefty.crupps 14th Oct 2009

Using a VM doesn't prevent keyloggers on the Windows host. If the keystrokes are passing through Windows, any keylogger will catch them.

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no problem with using a vm

pacman7777 Updated - 14th Oct 2009

Using a VM is the safest way to do online banking. Just close it and delete changes when you're done banking.

In Windows 7, you can dual-boot to a VHD. Just set the vhd to read-only.

Linux is slow and unstable at best. Not a valid or reliable way to do business. Besides that, it's written by a bunch of anti-establishment dorks. Who can trust that?

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not true facts....

FXEF 15th Oct 2009

Your comments about Linux are not true facts. If
you want to believe such nonsense, it's your privilege, but you should not spread this garbage.

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Live CD through VM

sspenning@... 14th Oct 2009

Why not just boot a Live CD ISO on a VM? Best of
both worlds. It's a read only environment but no
rebooting your OS, no wasted CDs or DVDs.

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No problem with VM

a.ross.nz Updated - 14th Oct 2009

just load the ISO file in to vm and boot that problem solved, you don't even need to attach a HDD to your VM host, Simple
-- oops didn't read the other opinions with the same message

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Problems with VM

masud@... 15th Oct 2009

Keyloggers can still interrupt a VM even if you were to boot a 'livecd' on a VM... A properly programmed Windows virus can interrupt VM process to figure out if it's making a NAT connection on 443 and if so grab the memory segments of the VM to hunt for appropriate private data.

Sophisticated attack would attempt to search for a private keys in memory during a secure session.... In case of a VMM it's even more dangerous since a VM's memory is highly susceptible to host traversal.

Using live CD on a cold booted system is probably a much safer option.

If you want to have a dual-boot system so that you can boot Linux from the HD (since it's faster and probably helps when you want to download accounting information from your bank for your accounting software)... It's recommended that you configure an ENCRYPTED hard disk.

Most modern Linux systems allow for a fully encrypted system ? that system will NOT be visible in any reasonable way from your windows partition.

Those are my 2cents..

Cheers

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Actually...

merddyin@... 15th Oct 2009

You could in fact combine both approaches to get the desired effect. Create a VM, but don't bother loading an OS, then just grab that bootable Linux ISO the author referred to. Mark the file as Read-Only in Windows and attach it to the VM and leave it there. Since there is no OS loaded on the VM, it should always boot to the ISO. This gives you a read-only OS without needing to reboot your system so you can still check email and what not while doing your mobile banking in an isolated manner. Of course, the better answer by far is to become more security aware in the first place. I use online banking, but NEVER via a link and I generally check the SSL certs to ensure I hit the correct site...but I am a paranoid admin type.

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Actually...Not!

RandSec 15th Oct 2009

Booting the physical machine from DVD allows good security even when the Windows hard drive is infected. Since not all malware can be detected by scanning, we must assume Windows is infected, unless it has just been installed. And if Windows is infected, we cannot trust read-only bits and we cannot trust a VM, so we cannot trust anything that booted in the VM. For security, it is necessary to boot the physical machine.

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How about a VM running the Live CD

Hansc1 7th Dec 2009

The only problem I see with this is the risk of a key logger on the host PC.

Hans

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Use OS X

prof123 13th Oct 2009

The obvious solution is to use a Mac with VM Ware running Windows. Use Windows for games and other programs, never use Windows for browsing the internet.

Do all your browsing, online banking, etc. on OS X. VM Ware is just another window in OS X so Windows is just a click away, very convenient.

Reply
Flagged

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OS-X Doesn't have SecureLinux Kernel!

i2fun@... 13th Oct 2009

There is only one operating that is used by agencies like DOE and NSA (National Security Agency) and it isn't OS-X or Windows. The NSA long ago wrote SecureLinux. It's now integrated into the Linux Kernel. That's why most of the most powerful computers in the World use Linux!!!

DOE also now uses NX Thin Client Technology on Linux Servers. They do this to sandbox the many users computers within the department from the Web:

http://www.nomachine.com/news-read.php?idnews=283

You too can run it on a Mac, but only as a Thin Client!
http://www.nomachine.com/download-client-macosx.php

If you want to run an NX Server though, it must be installed on either Solaris or Linux. You can do that on your Home Network with an old PC/windows box with a Linux Firewall Server installed and your PC's or Mac's hooked in as clients. Here is the link to the test servers, but they are far away. They should still give you an idea of how it works:

http://www.nomachine.com/download.php

After install, click on "Test Drive"! grin

BTW..... the only OS that has yet to get a virus or receive malware attacks in the wild (installed outside of a lab), is Linux! So... how secure is your Mac running on OS-X? NOT!!! wink

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Just because the OS is secure dosent mean the software is too.

Been_Done_Before 14th Oct 2009

Had a linux web server get hacked by a root kit that was installed via a flaw in ssh. Granted the kernel was running in a jail so the box wasnt rooted, but they did enough damage.

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Do you have the money to buy me a Mac?

Cylon Centurion 14th Oct 2009

Lol. I'd rather stick with my 7 box. No offense though, I'd use a Mac too if they were cheaper.

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not so fast

archer75 14th Oct 2009

It was the hacker you won pwn2own two years in a
row for hacking a mac that said Windows is more
secure than OSX.

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Why did I think...

kd5jos Updated - 15th Oct 2009

Why did I think that it was Safari that was hacked, and not the OS? As far
as I can tell this is the same as the above comment, "Just because the OS
is secure, doesn't mean the software on it is." For the record, I use
OpenBSD, from CD to do financial transactions on line. You know, nuke
it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

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