Hello all you knowledgeable expats ????? Will be coming to Fuengirola CDS in April for two months,to do some reform work on a friends villa.The apartment I will be staying at does not have internet access and wanted to know how secure are the Internet cabins,as will need to do banking transactions over the internet,during my stay,or has anyone used the free wi-fi access for secure transactions,Thanks Robbo

Yes to both but in Costa Blanca north

Hi Sue,Thanks for your reply,So you feel this is a safe way of using internet banking and youve had no problems

No problems - just make sure you log off each time - did banking with Lloyds TSB and Nationwide that way for at least a couple of months - first via the hotel where we were staying and then in a local internet cafe until our telephone line etc were installed.

Thank Sue,was worried that hackers could get into my account and empty it of my £2.50 savings

Anybody else have thoughts or experiences of Internet Banking and Free Wi-Fi access,Thanks:thumbdo wn:

The greatest risk for internet banking fraud has shifted to the client side (i.e. your PC) over the last couple of years. This is because the banks have become better at writing secure web sites, whilst the world of viruses has evolved and started churning out technology known as 'spyware'.

The safest way to access your account is to use your own laptop / PC with up to date firewall / anti-virus / anti-spyware etc. As long as you're browsing over HTTPS, which you should be with your bank, then you'll be 'reasonably' safe even doing so over WiFi. Just make certain that you're connecting via an 'official' WiFi hotspot and not just any old WiFi connection that you find as you drink your cafe con leche. Or better still, connect via your mobile phone.

Publically accessible PCs are obviously a higher risk. The 'kiosk' type you often find in hotel lobbies and airports where you put your euro coins in are usually better since they are designed to be tamperproof - but naturally some are better than others.

The 'surf shack' arrangements with lots of 'ordinary' PCs on desks or in cubicles are often infested with spyware and other nasties. Try to avoid these. The other risk of a public place, of course, is the 'shoulder surfer' who watches over you whilst you type, or watches your bank account details appear on-screen as you view your statement!

If I'm not comfortable about the way I'm connecting in - I simply won't bother and will fall back on telephone banking as a means of managing my accounts.

Thanks for your advice,Will certainly bear it in mind

It might be a good idea to check if there is a public library close to where you are going to be based which has free wifi access - ours does, in Velez-Malaga, and all we had to do to join was to take our passports into the library and were issued with a membership card on the spot. I use one of the library PCs and the OH brings his laptop in, and we both use the library system for internet banking amongst other things (such as this forum!) and have never had any problems.

I've got to admit, I'd never use a public access pc for internet banking. I know people say they have had no problems, but where the internet and credit cards are concerned its a matter of reducing risk wherever possible.

It would take me no more than 5 seconds to deploy a keylogger onto a library PC - they're so sophisticated these days, that they capture the image around the mouse clicks rather than just keystrokes - specifically designed for those using Internet Banking with anti-spyware features.

Worse still - many Spanish banks request the entire PIN rather than just certain digits to authenticate. This makes it possible to break into someone's account from a single login.

On the other hand, some banks have invested in two factor authentication - so if you're carrying around something like a SecurID card to access your account you're safer as long as you keep the card safe. Swiss banks have been using this technology for over 10 years...