1. There are advantages to using a small local bank where you are known.

2 Yes, Guest, there are programs called keystroke loggers that can record everything you type and foreward it to another machine. They are often included in trojans. Bosses may use them also. BTW, there are also hardware keystroke loggers that can plug into the back of your machine.

3. I believe - personal opinion only - that it's OK to make small purchases on line, cd's and such. The thing to avoid is venders to record your card number and put it in a data bank. That's one of the reasons I won't use PayPal. I pay my ISP with a credit card. but only after I got a wrtiien guarantee that it's not recorded.

4. If your local district attorney's consumer affairs office is any good at all, they can and will do something about merchants who send their bills too late to be paid on time.