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.
formerprof
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.
formerprof
This probably doesn't directly address all of your concerns, but it
might help. First, let me say that I don't download credit card
transactions into Quicken. Therefore, I have no account numbers stored
in Quicken.
In regard to your laptop being stolen, etc. -- I use a program that I
downloaded called Folder Lock. I believe it costs about $30 or so. It
allows me to encrypt any files that I want to on my PC or laptop. I
have all of my Quicken files in that encrypted folder. The folder is
not only encrypted, but it isn't even visible to the casual user.
Of course, it takes a few extra seconds to get into Quicken, since I
need to enter a password into Folder Lock, but I find that's a small
price to pay for a little peace of mind.
Just a thought.