___special_k___

A question for all you IT people - do you use online banking? How safe is it?

mike1210

the websites and the like are perfectly safe as the data is that leaves your computer to access the site is encrypted. Only factors are scam sites and possible machine compromise i.e key loggers on your machine

so if your machine is free of nasties you should be fine, edited to add the address should always be https...... the S meaning secure

Iain Young

Been using it for years and never had a problem. As mike says, as long as your machine is secure and free of nasties there's no problem.

___special_k___

I was once advised to get in the habit of using the enter key as little as possible when on the internet and always mouse click on the appropriate button when entering data. This apparentely makes it harder for data loggers to interpret any information they recorded. I

Is this worthwhile or nonsense??

mike1210

most bank sites do this now in case of keyloggers i.e. your memorable word letters are selected on screen. So in a sense its correct but as long as your PC is healthy it shouldnt matter either way, never enter passwords online if you suspect your pc is compromised. Your PC should always be running a firewall be it hardware (router) and/or software (zone alarm for example) and anti-virus (AVG doesn't count as anti-virus) software. Look to run anti-spyware packages once a week i.e. adaware etc

judgejules

I use it for bank and cc's. Some are more secure than others as mentioned above they use mouse selectable semi-random questions/answers. The most secure being one that uses physical card reader authenticaion.

They are as safe as a hole in the wall or handing your card over the counter to buy something. At the end of the day it'll be user error if your account gets hacked (key loggers, fishing etc) and if the bank gets hacked directly you dont need to worry about it.

Jules

King RA

I use the egg money manager (egg.com). You put all your sites into this and you can access all of them from egg. The details are stored on your local computer (encrypted) so you have to put the details of all your accounts on other computers if you wish to use other computers but I think it's a great little tool, gives a much better overview.

Markus

I've used various online banking facilites both in the UK and Canada and I've never had a problem with them.

The usual rules that apply to any site requiring a login name and password are the same, if you're prompted to save the name and password, say no.

If you use a public terminal then go in and delete any cookies, just to be on the safe side.

Make sure your virus protection and spyware detection software are running the latest updates, as they could well detect keyloggers and/or prevent their installation in the first place.

As said by others, the biggest risk is the end user, ie; yourself. Banks will very rarely, if ever, send you an email asking you to click the link and login to your account, or to supply your account details in an email.

GE90

Any other money managers out there?
I've not got an egg account, but I like the idea of a money manager!
Cheers.