Laptop/internet whilst abroad

[madmaggot]

We are going to tour the continent in a few months time and I will need to be able to access my on line banking/credit card account/phone family/etc whilst away.
We will be in a motorhome so will only have mains power every so often when on a site.
What would be a good laptop with a long battery life?
How can I access the internet securely and cheaply whilst away?
Can I use above internet connection to telephone family?
Many thanks.

[tamborine]

This Dell Lat D620 has wifi, ports for dongles and (under battery) a slot for phone chip.

[stoofur]

I would suggest you only use wi-fi whilst abroad or an internet cafe. You can connect using a 3g dongle connected to the laptop but this is really expensive overseas. My provider (o2) charge �3 per megabyte really expensive.

If you do decide to go down the dongle route get a pre pay one as at least you won't get hit with a huge bill when you return.

You may find the camp site you stay at has a free wi-fi area which is the best way to go!

Have a good trip!

[madmaggot]

Thanks for the answers, would wi-fi be secure? I would of course have Norton or similar protection but am very wary of being intercepted when banking.
Also, we expect to be wild camping most of the time, how secure would internet cafes be?

[ACtheTROLL]

you will never get a secure publicly shared connection

use wifi - means nothing - wifi is just the connection method - so use wifi to where??

a dongle will cost an arm and leg - it's more secure ... but not very

and if you are wild camping - you won't get a signal anyway

Getting away should be just that - a postcard saying wish you were here - and no other contact with home for two or more glorious weeks - oh and a pile of travellers cheques ...

In my youth a six week or more trip to somewhere very hot or very cold.... no communication except for a couple of flares - hard but very relaxing