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Quicken & Quickbooks
Is our personal financial information being harvested? Of course the answer is yes, but to what extent do we have any modicum of privacy and security? To what extent is our financial information vulnerable to being hacked, or to identity theft? I feel very uncomfortable giving bank account information and passwords so they can "manage" my finances for me. ---- For many years I have used older versions of Quickbooks that are set up on an old stand alone computer using WinXP that is not hooked up to the Internet, nor networked with any other computers. I bought a new Quicken 2015 to explore as a way of organizing spread sheets that are not locked into double entry accounting. In order to function, it seems we have to open an interactive account with Intuit and divulge personal identification information. They force us to divulge lots of other information over Internet in order to move forward with their software. I'm now getting "reminders" in my email that I did not ask for. Does this situation concern anyone else? .... or do you just jump in with both feet and use all the services they have to offer for keeping track of lots of personal information -- bank accounts, paypal, credit cards, money transfers, credit score monitoring, etc., etc., etc.? Jan 16 15 03:39 pm Link I use Quickbooks Pro 2009, and do not allow it to access the internet. If you have an older version key for the older software it can still be downloaded and installed. Jan 16 15 03:47 pm Link From the Quicken website: Am I required to setup an Intuit ID? Quicken 2015 and newer require the use of Intuit ID. If you do not already have an Intuit ID, created when you purchased any Intuit product directly from our websites or when using other Intuit-provided services, then you will be required to create one. An Intuit ID is not required to use Quicken 2014. Select Use Quicken without connecting at the bottom of the first registration page if you don't want to setup an Intuit ID. However, if you would like to take advantage of Quicken's online services, such as downloading transactions, free updates, or mobile sync, registering an Intuit ID with Quicken 2014 is required. http://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/ … 85862.html ---- In order to run QW2015 without an internet connection, you must first connect to the internet and register the product with a new or existing Intuit ID. Then you can disconnect or move the Quicken data to a standalone computer. https://qlc.intuit.com/questions/100828 … connection Jan 16 15 04:14 pm Link I was referring to installing older versions, they go back to 2004 for Windows and 2006 for Mac - http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/su … dates.aspx All you need is an old license key from when you first purchased the software. This would be for those that do not like their newer "must connect to the internet" versions. This is also the reason why I have made sure I keep all of my old full versions of CS3, CS4 and CS5 and the license keys. Unfortunately from CS4 on you have to let it verify the activation once in a while or you cant use it.  Software companies want to do what every other business does nowadays and collect as much marketing/personal information as possible for targeted advertising etc. Jan 16 15 04:22 pm Link Because I don't understand security and privacy issues, hacking, identity theft and other issues related to what the IRS or Treasury Dept requires or will require Intuit to hand over to them now or in the future, I prefer to keep all my accounting and other private information offline as much as possible. I certainly don't want to connect all my personal information together and place it in the hands of someone else. Jan 16 15 04:32 pm Link Yes, I am concerned. But yes, I like using Quicken to pay bills, download transactions, download stock prices, and so forth. The bad news -- yes, it represents a potential vulnerability. But I like those features. So, I look at my key accounts often. In Quicken, and on the banks' & institutions' web sites. I've only been hacked once (because of a PayPal leak), and I was able to catch it <2 hours after it happened, and since my accounts were insured, I didn't lose anything (but it was a hassle, since I closed the hacked accounts & opened new ones). Jan 17 15 09:21 am Link I'm not going to comment on specific products. People like what they like because it fits their needs. From a security standpoint - I don't worry about putting CC numbers, etc on the web. I do, as a part of my morning ritual, check my accounts (all three of them CC, checking, and savings). It only takes about five minutes, and if something does go south, I know it right away and can alert the account provider thus limiting the damage and giving them a warm fuzzy feeling that I'm not trying to scam them. I also notify the credit reporting agencies right away. I dunno. I've only had things go south once in my life (lost wallet). Taking the above steps got me all of my money back within two days and nothing "bad" has ever shown up on my credit (identity theft, etc). Yes, the thief's did try, but my fast action (thank whichever god - if any - you want to for silly morning rituals) stopped them cold. The best security, IMHO, is knowing what you have (or should have) on a timely basis - for me, that means every morning. Frankly, I do not understand all of the stories about people going through hell, taking months or years to get things right, and loosing their money. Frankly, I tend to think that they were simply not paying attention. When things go south, speed is of the essence. Period! Funny ending to my story. About two years after it happened I got a knock on the door. It was the police. They had found my driver's license in the street and wanted to return it to me. ETA: I use and love Turbo Tax. Basically I send just about everything a thief would need over the net and have never had a problem. I also do just about everything on the web, banking, paying bills, buying toys, etc. In fact, I haven't written a check in years. Then again, I'm so freaking poor that any self-respecting thief would probably feel sorry for me and **deposit** money into my accounts.  ** makes mental note to look around and see if I even still own a checkbook ** Jan 17 15 09:39 am Link I use Quicken 2014 (NO Quicken ID) on a computer that is only connected to the internet for the brief periods that I am doing something that requires a connection (checking bank accounts, uploading to one of the websites I manage, uploading images to a print service). I appreciate you sharing the info about Quicken 2015...I will NOT be upgrading. Jan 17 15 09:58 am Link Lohkee wrote: I agree, and I also do check my accounts daily. Jan 17 15 12:13 pm Link ernst tischler wrote: They push new product continually, and are constantly modifying data files forward to the new versions, but I don't know how to go back to the old formats, without going to backups. Jan 17 15 01:31 pm Link Looknsee Photography wrote: I used to do that as well, and it worked great, until I got pissed off at the CC company for some long forgotten reason and canceled my card. Jan 17 15 01:46 pm Link Lohkee wrote: Ironically, having everything in Quicken helped -- I knew exactly who was auto-debiting my accounts. If I remember correctly, my bank did some (all?) of the contacting on my behalf. Lohkee wrote: I don't recall that happening to me. But I can believe that given my credit score & net worth, I might have gotten special treatment. Lohkee wrote: Well, you can do that through Quicken (use your bank's on-line bill pay). The advantage is that with Quicken, you can schedule recurring payments, combine transactions into your records, run reports, greatly assist at tax time, etc. Lohkee wrote: Cool. Cool. What's your social security number & your mother's maiden name, again? Jan 17 15 02:31 pm Link |
