[Tamara]

I’m just throwing this question out there to find out if anyone knows what is good to increase the security on iPads for online shopping. I was told that it isn’t as secure as a normal computer and that was after I made a purchase this week to an online fabric shop that doesn’t have PayPal. I went shopping on Thursday and wanted to use my card and found out after that the bank had frozen it because someone tried making a purchase with it – in the phillipines!

Just want to know what you would recommend to increase iPad security so it doesn’t happen again! They took a lot! normally hackers are sneaky and take bits here and there but this person took a lot! The bank is helping us sort it out and I am working on security.

So are there any recommendations to increase iPad security at all?

Tamara

[Pink Zipper]

Oh dear not a good experience.

I had a breech on my credit card a while back, and thankfully our bank was helpful and refunded our lost money.

I decided on two things.

I got a separate credit card for internet purchases. And I try to only use sites that provide Paypal as a payment method. Paypal have heaps of protection https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security

The other thing probably use only your own/home Wifi to make purchases. And always make sure that https is displayed.

In terms of specific IPad security, i’m not really sure. Wow, I was no help at all!

[Tamara]

No you were helpful! I found a page that details some of the things you’ve already said which makes sense. I may contact this store actually and ask if they could please set up PayPal as another option and maybe they will agree once they know what has happened. I’ve gone into my settings and made sure they are correct. The iOS is updated often, whenever there is an update available. It is the first really big experience I have had using the iPad. I did have a different experience where I ordered from a site and they double charged me and I fought tooth and nail to get the refund and I have never used that site again. There are some apps available but not a lot and most don’t have reviews so it is hard to tell what is good and what isn’t.

I have a PayPal account that I like to use but the downside is the increased exchange rate when ordering from overseas.

I only shop at reputable secure sites so something must have gone amiss somewhere along the line. I made the order from home too! Details are generally shared by hackers to keep the victim on their toes and the banks have to be good at keeping an eye on the transactions. Unfortunately the email was sent to my hubby’s address and he didn’t check them before we went shopping. Hence the discovery was made afterwards.

I will keep looking and researching and share what I’ve found. I would really hate for anyone else to get caught in this situation.

[LisaMM]

That’s a real pain for you. My only advice is to change your important passwords regularly. My PayPal account was hacked and charged, luckily it was only $100 and PayPal were great in solving it quickly, I was the only person who knew the p/w. I now change my p/w every 6 months or so. Ensure your p/w is a mixture of letters, numbers and symbols. I haven’t had any problems since. Keep an eye on your credit cards during the month so you can promptly report anything unusual. Also let your bank know in advance of making any unusual purchases so it can go through smoothly for you. Hope that helps.

[Tamara]

We are ALWAYS checking accounts – being a family business we have no choice but to keep abreast of the finances. It was just at the time when we hadn’t checked for a few days when they struck! Our bank is always our wing man in times like these – cc fraud is just one of those very common things they deal with. And here I was thinking PayPal was safe ground! Yes granted passwords are so,etching that need to be changed pronto!

[sayiamyou]

Not sure about increasing security on iPads but our credit card offers a “shopsafe” number. Essentially, when we can’t use PayPal we create a randomly generated credit card number via “shopsafe” for the amount we specify. We can also choose how long we want the card active. The monies still get applied to our true card but that real number is never provided to a website. We love this feature and use it anytime there is not a Paypal option. Is there something like this offered by your card/bank?

I’m sorry this happened to you and I hope you can get it resolved quickly.

[Mama_Knowles]

No advice but I am so sorry to here this. I hope you can get it resolved soon!

[Tamara]

I’ll have to enquire about this. My hubby is the primary card holder so he had to make the call and the changes and I just signed as a co signature. It certainly sounds like a good idea.

Thanks

[Adrienne]

I am so sorry that happened to you!!! My hubby works in the IT field and asked him for any advice in making shopping experiences more secure. (I order from my iPad quite a bit!) The good news is that shopping from the iPad is not any more risky that shopping from your computer. The security issues come into play due to your network/wireless setttings. Make sure that your wireless connection in your home is secure! (You do not want someone passing by to be able to use your Internet!)

Also, let the store you ordered from know! More than likely, it was their server that was hacked or it occured enroute! Stores with secure connections will have a little padlock icon pop up at the top of the iPad so you know that they are a secure site. Online shopping sites that do not show you the padlock may not be as secure as you’d like them to be…reputable or not. And as you mentioned early, Paypal is usually one of the safest ways to shop since they add another layer of security. And of course, making sure that your passwords are secure ones (combinations of letters/numbers and DO NOT use the same one for everything) will also keep your shopping experiences pleasant!

Hope some of this helped! : )

[Sarvi]

Adrienne’s husband has it right — the iPad is not an inherently risky device to use for shopping, and the problem probably wasn’t on your end. Take all the normal precautions mentioned in Adrienne’s post — regrettably, there is nothing you can do to make sure you will never get in the path of fraud, but your credit card company should be able to help you sort it out.

[Tamara]

They have thankfully! And we are waiting for replacements. I did notice that some of the site I had visited that day didn’t have a padlock so that is probably where the hole in the fence is. I have ordered things from my iPad before without drama so it isn’t as if I wouldn’t again. But there is no way I want to allow someone to take another great wad from my cc and this time go unnoticed.

I’ll do an experiment with how far I can get with my iPad still being within the wireless signal as we are more than one kilometre from the road – We live on a property so I am really not sure as to whether or not someone could access it without us knowing.

Thanks so much ladies! I thought it would be helpful to others just new with their iPads to know this information too. I’ve had mine for a little while now but still the information is useful to know.

[Nicole]

Tamara,we had a hike in our internet one month and after investigating it it was suggested that someone was using our WiFi.

We now lock it.

Out of curiosity,when we were in the city on the weekend,I opened my laptop to see how many WiFi systems I could log into whilst we were driving.

I was surprised how many were unlocked and I could use if I has wanted to.

I am so sorry that this happened to you. It must feel like your house being broken into.

I am a firm PayPal user.

~Nicole~

[Tamara]

Well yes it is an extreme violation of personal space so to speak! I have to investigate how to lock the wifi. Murray says there is a code that we have to use to get into it – Netscape or something. He knows more about that kind of thing than I do.

PayPal is my preferred option also.

Internet out here is very basic! But I will still investigate as we have travellers going up and down the road all the time. As far as security on the home computer is concerned we need to look further I think to make sure we haven’t missed a hole in the fence somewhere.

[Sarvi]

Just to reiterate, having a good security protocol as outlined in Adrienne’s post is a great idea for everyone, and iPad users need not take any particular precautions above what any user of a wireless device should take. Especially for those not in areas with high population density, just to give you some peace of mind, it’s much more likely that crooks are going to target a website, which will process many credit cards, than an individual family’s unprotected home network, which will have few. Hope this helps you feel a little less personally invaded.

[Tamara]

Well I made Murray go on and sort this out as I found a page telling what to do to lock your wifi. He likes to jump around and wanted to do just one bit of what the article said to do. I told him all or nothing! I’m not going to have a repeat of this experience any time soon!

Well anyway, after all the rigmorole of going through the details and enjoying “locked” wifi internet for about an hour, hubby decides he’s going to also block a few sites that shouldn’t be accessed to a certain 10 year old in our house (Youtube! )she knows we don’t want her to go on there and all other attempts to stop her from accessing it have failed and with our rather limited computing knowledge have tried stopping her from accessing this before. We have both realised that what we think we know how to do regarding computers is by far and away an illusion! He’s blocked Youtube (thank God!) and now our little “interior internet sapper” won’t do what she usually does.

Moral of this story? The modem – yes our new one – died! so now we are trudging along with the laptop and the mobile usb thingy. No internet shopping on this one – well can’t because of the card fiasco.

We should be safe and sound now. But I do have another question, Adrienne, could you please ask your hubby what one could do regarding ipads and internet security where the sim cards are concerned? I am assuming you would turn it off if not using it but whilst using it how would you make it secure?

Thanks

Tamara