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Spotted a weird thing at my local library's public computers | DIY Cyber Defense - Free To Speak

Spotted a weird thing at my local library's public computers

Was at the downtown branch in Portland last week printing a return label. Noticed the guy next to me logging into his bank account on their shared machine. He just walked away after, leaving the page open. I told the librarian and she said they clear sessions every hour, but that's 60 minutes of risk right there. Anyone else see folks treating public computers like their personal devices?

3 comments

3 Comments

taraross1mo ago

Have you considered just using your phone's hotspot or the library's guest WiFi instead of their actual computer? I keep a cheap prepaid phone with a hotspot plan exactly for situations like this. Most people don't realize that even if the librarian clears the browser, keyloggers can be pre-loaded on shared machines. At minimum, always use a private browsing window or incognito mode so nothing gets saved automatically. If you absolutely have to use the library computer, change your passwords from a trusted device later that same day. It only takes a few seconds to be safe, and it saves you from a world of trouble.

dylan_brown301mo ago

Hearing he just walked off with his banking page open makes my jaw drop. That's like leaving your wallet on the table at a coffee shop and hoping nobody takes it. Some people really don't realize how easy it is for someone to bookmark that page or install a keylogger within seconds. The librarian saying they clear sessions every hour doesn't change the fact that your account could get drained in five minutes. Being that careless with your bank login is just asking for trouble.

west.casey1mo ago

The real issue nobody's talking about is how many people use the same password for everything. Even if the librarian clears the session, there's a chance someone saw enough of that password to guess it. Or they could've snapped a photo of the login page with their phone. Once they have that password, they'll try it on email, social media, everything. That bank login is the key to a lot more than just one account.