Is online banking safe?

ChiefGrasscutter

securityguy wrote: »

And if you read the documentation for Android security software it is very careful to not claim to be able to detect malware.

Well this one clearly states to be able to detect android malware
http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/android-security
The paid for version is offered free by Barclays to their customers

securityguy

ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »

Well this one clearly states to be able to detect android malware

You'll note the very, very careful caveats: that it can only do so via manual scans, and that it can only examine applications as they are downloaded, not afterwards. That sounds useful, doesn't it? Except if it has a known piece of malware at the point of downloading the store will block it, and if a piece of malware is discovered subsequent to your having installed the app, then it won't catch it other than via a manual scan. And how often are you planning to do that? Every time you run an application? Seriously?

Let me rephrase my hasty point: they're very careful to avoid implying they can usefully detect malware in realistic scenarios, or that they can in any way do so in the automated fashion Windows users would expect.

The only scenario in which such a piece of software is useful is when Kaspersky find a piece of malware on the Google Play store, don't tell Google, distribute the pattern files, still don't tell Google, you install the new pattern files, they still haven't told Google, and then you download a new piece of software which Kaspersky know to be infected but, unaccountably, haven't told Google. You're welcome to believe that risk is realistic. It's the old joke about anti-elephant hats: I know it works, because I haven't been sat on by an elephant lately.

pathtofreedom

As long as you keep your computer and antivirus up to date it shouldn't be a problem.

You're more at risk from clever phishing schemes now really. If you look at radio 4's money box programme, they have a few episodes of different frauds. You can listen on iplayer, or they have podcasts of older episodes.

This one about hotel bookings at booking.com was interesting, and there are a few other episodes with other phishing examples. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04v9653

Just being aware scammers are getting more and more sophisticated, so never take an email or phone call at face value when it involves money. Don't assume as well someone with an english accent means they aren't a scammer.

pathtofreedom

Another tip is don't use the same password for everything. As if a company is hacked then that should leave you a less risk of someone getting into everything later. Eg talk talk is hacked, you use them and use the same username / password for amazon, tesco and your bank then that could then be used against you.

anoncol

On the mobile side of things I've just come across a review of a legit app called runtastic on android and apparently it kept getting rated as medium risk by Norton and now it's high.

I've no idea how it does it's heuristics but it's not very good. Then again Norton it's rubbish on PC any way.

Kernel_Sanders

So should I remove the free Android store anti-malware I have on my old Gingerbread phone? It's using up valuable space on the tiny 160MB HDD!

chucknorris wrote: »

Online banking is definitely not safe, my aunty was using online banking and a piano fell on her head.

Funnily enough, the same thing happened to my little niece. It resulted in A flat minor.