Bank Account & Internet Security

Redemption

Apologies if this has been asked before.....

I would be very interested to hear from any of the bank staff on here of any additional measures they would take regarding online banking security. Do they go above or beyond the normal for their own accounts? Or, do they not trust the system?

I use several banks and have (touch wood) never had a problem. I try to follow all the normal advice e.g. up to date virus / spyware software, different passwords, never write them down, never use public computers, shred any financial or addressed document before binning it. I do however use the same pin (random number not date or anything anybody might guess) for all my cards as I don't think I could remember 4 or 5 different ones.

The card reader issued by one bank made me nervous. I didn't think my pin could be read from a card but, as this little machine says "pin correct" I suppose it must. Are they a step forward? Would you prefer banks that used them or would you avoid them?

Thanks

Extant

You can't just read a PIN off the chip, otherwise it would be entirely useless. Basically, you are telling the chip (via the card reader) your PIN, and saying "is this right?" The chip then says yes, and all is well. It's not stored in plain text on your card.

As for additional steps, I have a Mac at home so the virus things doesn't really need bothering with. The only step I take is to always enter the address for online banking myself.

Miss_Liquorice

I use the internet banking quite regularly, but I also type in the address on the URL bar. I don't give the banks my email address so any emails 'from my bank' can all be put straight into the spam folder.

My password is a mix of capital and lower case letters, and numbers, and isn't shared with anyone and is different with different banks.

I received one of those card reader things, but I don't use it. I just ring up telephone banking for any transaction requiring me to use it. Not that I think it's insecure, but I have moved recently and can't remember where I packed it. ^_^

I think it's predominantly common sense, none of it is really because I work in a bank.

ShelfStacker_3

Only I know my internet banking user number, and I always go to HSBC's website through the same bookmark I've used since, well, since I started banking with HSBC...

Also use a Mac, like BarclaysManager, and ignore pretty much all emails purporting to be from financial institutions (except, shamefully for me, the message saying my app for a Barclaycard was approved...); despite their saying about it, HSBC have never emailed me for service reasons.

LongTermLurker

BarclaysManager wrote: »

You can't just read a PIN off the chip, otherwise it would be entirely useless. Basically, you are telling the chip (via the card reader) your PIN, and saying "is this right?" The chip then says yes, and all is well. It's not stored in plain text on your card.

As for additional steps, I have a Mac at home so the virus things doesn't really need bothering with. The only step I take is to always enter the address for online banking myself.

What an excellent answer (para 1)

Can MACOS X support viruses? Yup - http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html

(if it's not MACOS X then there are plenty of old-style viruses to choose from, they're just different to Windows ones).

ShelfStacker_3

Yeah, Macs have viruses, but less so than Windows.

Not that I got viruses on Windows either, I just used common sense.

PROLIANT

Look out! Here comes the MAC brigade! :rolleyes:
All computers are capable of becoming infected with a virus or malicious code....even MAC, UNIX and Linux.

Extant

PROLIANT wrote: »

Look out! Here comes the MAC brigade! :rolleyes:
All computers are capable of becoming infected with a virus or malicious code....even MAC, UNIX and Linux.

Except at no point did I state that the Mac is invulnerable, just that anti-virus isn't really worth bothering with, since it is a significantly smaller threat.

Also, the accusation of "the Mac brigade" is also unfounded - it's not as though I decreed "WINDO$E SUX LOL."

I simply happen to prefer the design of the Apple laptop range, and the ease of use of OS X. That said, however, my desktop is a Dell Optiplex and my other laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad - so if anything, I'd probably be classed as the XP Pro brigade.

PROLIANT

BarclaysManager wrote: »

Except at no point did I state that the Mac is invulnerable, just that anti-virus isn't really worth bothering with, since it is a significantly smaller threat.

Also, the accusation of "the Mac brigade" is also unfounded - it's not as though I decreed "WINDO$E SUX LOL."

I simply happen to prefer the design of the Apple laptop range, and the ease of use of OS X. That said, however, my desktop is a Dell Optiplex and my other laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad - so if anything, I'd probably be classed as the XP Pro brigade.

OOhh put your handbag away Mrs, your messing my hair
I was only pulling your plonker Mr Barclays Manager, please do not take offence, I just enjoy paking the tiss out of MAC users, old IT dept joke that goes back some time, please accept my apologies if I came across rude.

ShelfStacker_3

Nowt wrong with taking the pizzazzle out of Mac users. I do it myself occasionally, when I stop stroking my goatee beard and brushing Starbucks muffin crumbs off my black turtleneck sweater.

LongTermLurker

PROLIANT wrote: »

Look out! Here comes the MAC brigade! :rolleyes:
All computers are capable of becoming infected with a virus or malicious code....even MAC, UNIX and Linux.

Well, I had to double check because I was about to make the same assumption about Mac viruses - that's why I specified OS-X. It would appear that the first OS-X virus/worm/trojan appeared only earlier this year, so 11 months ago BM could have said they didn't exist. On the other hand, there are loads of old-style MACOS nasties about.

As you say, all computers (certainly X86) are able to support a virus, because it's just a program when all said and done, but it boils down to whether someone manages to write one for a particular OS and put it in the wild. SPARC & RISC processors make life a bit more difficult for virus writers too.