Feel safe while banking online
Feeling safe when banking online is a myth to some people. In fact, I have a friend who will not opt for online banking no matter what he says or does. I understand very well that an increasing number of us “online bankers” have fallen for some joke or another that has caused us our hard earned money. However, any suggestion to cancel our Online Banking services should be ignored (you also say that it is silly, right?). Instead, we must look closely to identify various pranks / tricks, threats, and weaknesses that are being used to steal our cash. This article aims to give you the right knowledge and skill to enjoy the immense services through Safe Online Banking.
We will briefly discuss some tips to help you feel secure when banking online.
Registration details –Save these credentials. I mean your username (in most cases, account number) and password. Don’t write them down somewhere, not even in your bedside journal (unless you’re 80 or older! Or have multi-factor authentication). This is the only password for your account. Although this may sometimes don’t transfer money (if you’re using multi-factor authentication) but I bet you don’t want to open up your personal account details to your roommates.
Multi-factor authentication– This is a method where you use more than one form to log into your bank account (s). This is very difficult to fool. Security experts sometimes refer to this as strong authentication: what it says it is (e.g. username), what it has (e.g. passcode (token), passphrase or password), who es (signature, eg fingerprint) equals your true identity. I was glad when the banks I use started issuing tokens for online banking transactions. Tokens are small hardware that generates random numbers dedicated to you at all times to further protect your login / authorization processes. Token will make it difficult for anyone to guess the password or authorization code for your transactions. Even the next number your token will generate is not determined by you!
You must request multi-factor authentication from your bank or move your account. Token will give you the proper sense of control.
Internet browser detachment – Online banking is mainly done through an Internet browser. The weaknesses of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera have been exploited by scammers, hackers and all kinds and they take our money without a trace. Therefore, I have devised a method to reduce my exposure.
- Using a different browser for different purposes.– For example, I use Firefox, Chrome and Safari for general browsing, while I use Internet Explorer only and STRICTLY for my ONLINE BANKING. The first reason is that as you browse different sites, you download your cookies (consciously or unconsciously) and some plugins (for example, password managers and autocomplete, among others) in those browsers could be the same sending of your data. Another is the fact that most online banking platforms are more compatible with Internet Explorer (my conclusion after several uses).
- Without add-ons. Please do not add any plugins to the internet browser you have selected. Firefox recently announced that it is being removed from its list; a password keeper plugin that sent user details to a remote server. Can you imagine how many records they would have collected before being detected?
- Protected mode –Enable protected mode in your preferred browser. This will allow the browser application to run in a Sandbox (a kind of feature containment or confinement) that increases the security of your browser.
Secure website – Any website with “HTTP:” (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) indicates that your transaction is not secure (no encryption). “HTTPS: “(HTTPSecure) it is for encrypted services that guarantee that you are talking to the correct server with the use of what is called sessions. You can identify this by padlock sign at the top (IE) or at the bottom right (Firefox) of your browser. Fortunately, all registered banks use secure websites for their online banking platform.
If the site is not secure (ie HTTPS), do not bank online or leave your credit card or ATM details on those sites. Always keep an eye out for this sign, PLEASE!
Plus– You can get more tips and tricks in our report. Online Privacy Secrets No. 1.
The report covers:
- Online anonymity – encrypted connection through local internet provider
- Identify fraudulent websites and emails
- Stop spamming –
- Browse restricted
- Classified Information on Facebook – Advanced FB Settings
- Detailed Internet Safety Tips
This is a great library of winning online safety tips and tricks that will give you a great sense of confidence while online.
If interested, send “Online Privacy Secrets” to [email protected].