1. John EC1's Avatar
    Hi, as I have previously stated I am still using my KeyOne Black edition as my main phone. Having read some of the threads about security patches from the CB experts I have been reconsidering because I do use mobile banking etc when away from home but using mobile data. I NEVER use WiFi outside my flat, enable any Bluetooth device or use NFC, ever. I never even turn them on and I always check their status before leaving home. Religiously. Like everyone else I have the Feb 2019 update as the most recent patch.
    As a boost to my own common sense efforts I have just bought 1 years Proton VPN. Will this provide an extra level of protection from nefarious actors to compensate for the lack of patches if it is on at all times? I am not talking about governments, intelligence agencies or even hybrids like NSO groups Pegasus. Just ordinary hacking groups or cyber crooks. It is quite important to me because I live on the edge of London's financial district so there are a lot of wealthy, busy, tired and careless people floating about and therefore a lot of decent targets. People sit in bars and coffee shops and try their luck. Obviously they can't put 'wealthy bankers only' as a search parameter so they catch locals as well as bankers. Even though I don't have much to steal I still don't want to get hacked.
    Thanks in advance and once again thanks for the great resource you provide.
    John
    Milaniskochobot likes this.
    10-21-21 08:06 PM
  2. conite's Avatar
    Hi, as I have previously stated I am still using my KeyOne Black edition as my main phone. Having read some of the threads about security patches from the CB experts I have been reconsidering because I do use mobile banking etc when away from home but using mobile data. I NEVER use WiFi outside my flat, enable any Bluetooth device or use NFC, ever. I never even turn them on and I always check their status before leaving home. Religiously. Like everyone else I have the Feb 2019 update as the most recent patch.
    As a boost to my own common sense efforts I have just bought 1 years Proton VPN. Will this provide an extra level of protection from nefarious actors to compensate for the lack of patches if it is on at all times? I am not talking about governments, intelligence agencies or even hybrids like NSO groups Pegasus. Just ordinary hacking groups or cyber crooks. It is quite important to me because I live on the edge of London's financial district so there are a lot of wealthy, busy, tired and careless people floating about and therefore a lot of decent targets. People sit in bars and coffee shops and try their luck. Obviously they can't put 'wealthy bankers only' as a search parameter so they catch locals as well as bankers. Even though I don't have much to steal I still don't want to get hacked.
    Thanks in advance and once again thanks for the great resource you provide.
    John
    No. VPN only helps with data in transit over your carrier or Wi-Fi network. It does nothing for device security.
    10-21-21 08:49 PM
  3. Ph1llip's Avatar
    Hi, as I have previously stated I am still using my KeyOne Black edition as my main phone. Having read some of the threads about security patches from the CB experts I have been reconsidering because I do use mobile banking etc when away from home but using mobile data. I NEVER use WiFi outside my flat, enable any Bluetooth device or use NFC, ever. I never even turn them on and I always check their status before leaving home. Religiously. Like everyone else I have the Feb 2019 update as the most recent patch.
    As a boost to my own common sense efforts I have just bought 1 years Proton VPN. Will this provide an extra level of protection from nefarious actors to compensate for the lack of patches if it is on at all times? I am not talking about governments, intelligence agencies or even hybrids like NSO groups Pegasus. Just ordinary hacking groups or cyber crooks. It is quite important to me because I live on the edge of London's financial district so there are a lot of wealthy, busy, tired and careless people floating about and therefore a lot of decent targets. People sit in bars and coffee shops and try their luck. Obviously they can't put 'wealthy bankers only' as a search parameter so they catch locals as well as bankers. Even though I don't have much to steal I still don't want to get hacked.
    Thanks in advance and once again thanks for the great resource you provide.
    John
    Hi John, if your main worry is that your mobile banking credentials will be snooped while using 4G data while out and about, the addition of a VPN certainly helps, although by how much is debatable as most reputable banks build their banking apps with their own level of encryption already. Intrinsically, Android apps are sandboxed in AOSP and don't have leakage to other parts of the phone. However, if you are using a browser on your device to access your bank and not their own app (maybe because they don't have one), then yes, a VPN certainly helps.

    How much you are protected depends on what type of attack you are most worried about. There are different vectors that you need to counter for each type of attack. Fortunately, real life is not like the movies, your chances of being cracked are infinitesimal if you're just a "regular Joe" and limit your cross section. It sounds like in your original post above, you already take sensible measures. There is no one single solution to cyber security so if you like your KeyOne BE, I'd say continue using it.
    10-22-21 01:35 PM
  4. John EC1's Avatar
    As always thanks guys.
    10-25-21 06:12 PM

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