Where is safe WiFi

[tape]

My area hit with hurricane and then power outages for week +. Do banking via computer. If the only source for internet connection is at coffee shop's wifi, how do I keep my banking secure?

[David M]

It is not secure unless it is an HTTPS connection or you can pay for public WiFi encryption software like this....
http://www.hotspotguardian.com/

Use this product, has a free and paid version: Surf anonymously - Download now and use for free | CyberGhost VPN

[Tin]

The only problem I see with the products above is they dont prevent ARP poisoning...better known as a man in the middle attack. All it takes is a person running a packet sniffing program, such as ettercap or Cain & Abel, to intercept all traffic and filter it through their laptop before it even makes it to the access point. The worst part about it, all forms of encryption are useless against it. SSH, SSL, TLS, HTTPS, etc...none of them are secure during a man in the middle attack. There are ways to make sure you dont end up a victim, such as running ARPwatch. Youre more likely to come under a man in the middle attack on a public wifi access point than you are nearly any other type of attack...as theyre the easiest to execute and the results are quick.

[David M]

Surfing anonymously (by using a proxy server) is different than encrypting your public WiFi connection.