Originally Posted by
TravelinSperry
Commonplace? Who says? What stats? The media sure does talk it up like it's a thing... but I don't see any articles with any stats.
I have traveled extensively around the world and used hotel computers, computer stores and wifi hotspots with no issues.
That said, I'm all for a secondary hotmail account where you email yourself certain things. I too use one account for personal stuff and another for newsletters, online shopping, etc. I'm not saying to not to be prudent and not saying one shouldn't be careful. But sometimes we take this stuff too far due the media scaring us. I feel quite safe using a business computer in a decent high end hotel.
I suppose it's more of a security mindset borne of being in the tech field and understanding at least the basics of IT security, particularly relative risks.
It is notoriously difficult to properly secure a public Windows computer. Hotel IT staff are often not the best, and the business center computers are a low priority. It's not a question of if someone will be compromised who has a habit of using them in an insecure manner, but when.
For me, if I were forced to log on to my Gmail account from a public computer, I'd use the on-screen keyboard to type in my password, which many keyloggers can't log. I'd also probably do it in the browser's incognito mode so it deletes all the login cookies and session just in case the Log Off button doesn't (though I think Gmail's implementation is probably fine).
In any case, good security practices are about managing risk. You don't seem to ascribe much risk to your current practices, but I do.