Tips for internet security when using Betfair abroad or in a public/hotel WiFi environment

WIFI isn't 100% secure
Public WIFI even less so.

To access PC at home remotely use wifey

What do you think of VPNs, Escapee?

http://lifehacker.com/5902468/how-to-set-up-a-personal-private-vpn-with-hamachi

The reading around I've done suggests using a VPN.  I'm looking at Hotspot Shield and then using logmein for remote access.

You MUST use a secure VPN when using Betfair's website on public WIFI. The website is not secure, other people on the network will very easily be able to hijack your session and place bets using your money as if they were you!

Unfortunately, Betfair have known about this problem for years now and have shown no signs of caring enough to fix it.

I was planning on taking my Laptop to Mexico next week, mainly to run my Bot.

With it being six hours behind, racing should start around 8-8.30am, so I should still be in our hotel for the first hour or two of racing, but reading this I'm starting to get concerned.

Yep, I wouldn't use a hotel internet connection for anything of importance.  Very low chance someone's snooping around but if they do then you/we would be the low hanging fruit if we've taken no security measures.

From what I've read, using something like Hotpoint Shield - a VPN - should suffice, but I'm hoping to get some more feedback on here.  Whatever I do, I'll be withdrawing a huge chunk of my bank on here as I'm not planning on doing that much work when in Montreal.

would have thought https was fine without the need for vpn?

just tried http://www.betfair.com/sport and it works unsecured, so maybe vpn is way to go to be 100% safe in your own mind

brendanuk1 - yup, that's the exact problem. Most of Betfair doesn't use https, even with the new site.

I'm not very computer savvy, but I won't be using the Betfair site. I'll be using Gruss.

I'm guessing that won't be safe either?

you would have to check if api uses https, I guess it would, but dont know for sure

almost certain the API is https and that's the only way you should really be thinking about accessing the site on unsecure networks.

gruss is NOT safe if you are using it in NON-API mode, if it still has it.

any http session is open to sidejacking attacks.

I've installed the VPN, Hotspot Shield but I'm having issues.

When attempting to log in, Betfair is telling me I'm accessing Betfair from a country they don't accept bets on.  This happens when I have the 'virtual location' set as United Kingdom or Australia.  The website 'What is My IP Address' says the IP address is based in the UK (although says Dubai for Australia).

Also, I can access markets with the new site but not with the old site.  When on the old site, I can see the various 'zones' (e.g. Betfair Tennis Zone) but when clicking on 'View full market' nothing happens.  Clicking on 'Form Stats' works.  I can move around the markets in the left hand window which lists all markets, but none open when clicking on them.

Does anyone have any idea what's going on?

I don't know for sure, but try switching IP-address to another country where's there no Betfair restrictions, anyone like Ireland, Canada, Norway, Sweden or Denmark.

Hotspot Shield gives just three options: USA, UK, Australia.  I can't access Betfair with any of them (I obviously wouldn't expect to with USA).  Am I missing something when you say to change IP address?

Just remember to logout from Betfair before you do as Betfair may not accept bets when suddenly they come from another country during a session.

I don't know this Hotspot Shield. I had to download and use a VPN a few years back. It was called hidemyass.com and there I could choose IP-addresses from almost any country in the world.

What's weird is that BBC iPlayer works fine.  I'm assuming that would be blocked if the IP address was something like the USA.

Is it possible that Betfair are seeing a login from an IP address that is completely different to the one I'm currently logged into?

I'm logged in with my PC but have been trying to log in with my laptop which has Hotspot Shield installed.

have you tried logging out on the PC from betfair then logging in from the laptop


are you using the 7 day trial version might not be the same as full version ?

i am looking for one as well

do you know  if there is any difference in speed when using a VPN with gruss

I'm going to try logging out of my PC and then trying with the laptop a little later on this evening.  With the Champions League matches upon us, I'd rather not spend too much time with it at the moment.

I've paid the c.£25 for a year's subscription to the Elite package.  Probably should have tried it out first!

No idea about speed with Gruss I'm afraid.  I think my Mbps went from 10 when Hotspot was off to 8 when it was on.

thanks

Logging out on my desktop made no difference.  Also can't access BDaq through Hotspot Shield.  All websites saying I'm in England though.

I guess I'll have to see what Betfair and Hotspot customer services say. 

If I win the lottery, the first thing I'm doing is hiring an IT gimp to do all this crap for me. 

the solution i'd recommend is a (UK-based) Virtual Private Server (VPS)

a VPS allows you to log-in to BF, either to the website or to an api application (bot) from anywhere on the Planet

possibly it's not worth the effort if you only need it for 3 days, but if you were away from your home pc for more than a couple of weeks per year i'd thoroughly recommend it

you connect via Windows Remote Desktop, which is already on your pc (assuming you're running Windows) and it's, at least, as secure as VPN

even if you're only away for 3 days, there's at least one VPS provider that offers a week's trial for £1.

you set up your account onLine and the initial setup takes about 15 minutes ... once setup, logging on and starting to use takes about 15 secs.

i use VPS just about all the time for betting on BF and it costs me (approx) £25 a month

well, I've been criticised on her for mentioning the one I use (i have absolutely no connection with them apart from my monthly payment !), but i'll PM their address to you

Thanks, gus, I've just replied.

I think I'm going to need more time to get my head around all of this so looks like I'll probably just take the weekend off.  As it's a holiday, that's probably what I should be doing anyway!

Some companies will block users who go through public VPNs - Betfair might be doing this as they can be used to disguise the country you're in.

I've been on the phone with someone from Betfair who knew what he was doing and he tried removing an IP block but I still couldn't login.  He's got some data I sent him and he's looking into it.  Hopefully he comes up with a solution.

This has got me wondering how 'courtsiders' operate, i.e. how do they get fast/reliable/secure internet access, what method of placing bets do they use, i.e. betfair.com, Gruss, etc...

I've heard back from Betfair and it appears it's an issue with the VPN.  Most likely there's a US server somewhere in the chain and this is preventing me logging in.

As I'm going to be spending next to no time on Betfair whilst in the hotel, I'm going to withdraw most of my balance and have my account temporarily suspended whenever I'm not using it.  I'll also change my password each time.

From what I've been told, the login and deposit processes are https and so are secure.  There are so many transactions taking place that the prices, etc don't need to be.

Take everything I say with a pinch of salt as I'm not tech savvy.

You could leave your home pc logged in and use remote access from the laptop.

Thanks, Ell, that's something I considered but didn't really look into.  Do you think the basic LogMeIn Free package would suffice or would their Hamachi product be better/necessary?

I used Logmeinfree on a trip to Australia TP and it seemed to work fine.

The only thing is, if your PC at home freezes or something you can't just press the button to restart it. Obviously you can get around this (if it happens) by letting somebody you trust go into your house to sort it out.

or you could just use your mobile phone whilst abroad...just as safe as using your mobile here.

are they are any ways of using Betfair on your mobile in the US? With the use of hotspot shield and a VPN?