What is the safest technical setup for online banking ?

nyermen

Long thread I’ve only just come onto - I would add that I agree, smartphones generally safe.

Avoid:

- Unknown smartphone makers (there have been cases of cheap phones coming with malware).  Apple, Samsung, etc are fine as long as official software (no jailbreak on apple, no root on samsung, etc).
- Same pin code for banking app as for phone (in case overseen and then stolen).
- Poor authentication methods for devices - four digit codes, pattern or face recognition on android (is it any better now?), etc.

I’d also make sure your mobile provider has decent security, so sim swap fraud can’t happen easily.  Eg I think EE require a copy of ID in store, that is then copied and sent to head office for verification and only they can approve the swap.

One thing I would note, is the ability (eg. Apple) for one time passwords to be shared between devices through sharing - this could be a risk, if someone intercepts one device they might have the full picture even if split devices.

Ergates

Monanore said:

Just a thought.  

Those of you who understand these complicated things - and remember you are disagreeing amongst yourselves - just look back at all the comments and reflect on what a mess we have got in to  with online banking as a society, just for the sake of so-called 'convenience'.   

And think of all those not technically minded who have to navigate this minefield without proper defined instructions and guidance - as with everything these days nobody bothers to write user instructions any more, expecting people to rely on the rubbish on the internet.

Seems to me we'd be better off without it.

I don't see anything in here that represents a "mess" or a "minefield".

Moreover, by what stretch of the imagination is online banking only a "so called" convenience.  Being able to do all my banking from home is, very obviously, more convenient that having to go into a physical branch (that is mainly open when I'm at work).

If nobody writes user instructions then what, exactly, are you reading on the internet?   And why does being on the internet make it rubbish?  Do you believe the act of printing something out somehow improves the quality of the information?  How does that work?

danco

booneruk said:

You'd get onto the bank and tell them you have lost access to a trusted device, and get onto your SIM provider to report it lost also. You'd then get hold of a new phone and go through the bank's system to register the new device/number as trusted.

Alternatively, ditch SMS where possible and move to authenticator app (I believe this is where some things are moving naturally anyway - it's more secure). That way you can store backups of the seeds used for the number generation and install onto a new device yourself if required. If you didn't store backups of the seeds and you loose your device, you'd also need to go through the bank's process to register a new trusted device.

I believe banks are using in-app authorisation more and more too. When I buy something online with my Halifax card, I get prompted to go into the app and authorise it. No SMS = much safer (no one's going to spy the SMS preview or be able to hijack my SMS traffic via SIM swapping). This is another reason why banking apps are superior to browser based access.

I do ditch SMS whenever possible. Unfortunately it is still frequently not possible to do that.

Of course I see the other points about telling people and getting a new number registered, but that can take a long time. Still, that seems to be what is needed.

danco

booneruk said:

I've been saying from the start - get a modern phone, use its biometric features like fingerprint, keep it up to date and run the bank's app. There, you are secure enough and it's simple enough for all.

Secure against others getting into your account, and simple. But not all that simple if you lose the phone (or it's stolen)

Rob5342

booneruk said:

Online banking is great, and I'm glad its here to stay. I don't think I've set foot in a physical bank for over 10 years, and haven't done regularly for more than 20. How many hours of queuing has that saved on its own?

I find it odd that people regard Internet banking as a modern invention. I started banking online with Lloyd's 25 years ago and have never been inside a branch since. I was an early adopter but even the least technical members of my family have been banking online for at least 15 years. 

Rob5342

Monanore said:

And think of all those not technically minded who have to navigate this minefield without proper defined instructions and guidance - as with everything these days nobody bothers to write user instructions any more, expecting people to rely on the rubbish on the internet.

Seems to me we'd be better off without it.

Banks often give very good instructions om how to use their services, have a look at Lloyd's for example:

https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/everyday-banking.html

booneruk

Rob5342 said:

booneruk said:

Online banking is great, and I'm glad its here to stay. I don't think I've set foot in a physical bank for over 10 years, and haven't done regularly for more than 20. How many hours of queuing has that saved on its own?

I find it odd that people regard Internet banking as a modern invention. I started banking online with Lloyd's 25 years ago and have never been inside a branch since. I was an early adopter but even the least technical members of my family have been banking online for at least 15 years. 

I signed up with Smile bank in 1999! It was hardly the refined experience you get today, but it was great being able to shift money between current and savings accounts and keep an eye on day to day spending. In all the years since I've been solely online banking and haven't had a single issue - aside from the type of occasional technical glitch the bank's end that gets plastered all over the news and twitter. I have backup accounts to avoid any pain with those.

dino2020

Hi,

Its been an interesting 10 pages to read and leant some new things like Atomic Linux.

Would like to ask advice by expanding the OPs question in two areas.

First many older folk like us find using a mobile physically difficult with small screens and touch functions and although we have tried using GooglePay etc its always a struggle when you have your hands full of shopping etc.

However many Banking institutions are becoming more App based, some of the Start Ups like Monzo etc being almost 100% App baseD , so expect it will not be too long before the big boys do the same and ditch browser based methods.

While we currently use a Laptop for our banking, can see from this thread that we will need to move to something App based before too long and as mentioned a Tablet seems the way..

Although there are lots on 11” + Tablets around many of the more budget ones like the Samsung A9+ will only update From Android 13 to 14 , so wonder how secure it would be for banking with Android 15 now being out, never mine 16 onwards ?

Have also seen mention of running Phone Apps tethered to Windows though wonder if Banking Apps would automatically stop that for security reasons ?

Gather on Linux that Apps can be run using WayDroid but again not idea if that includes Banking App ?.

Has anyone tried and used  banking Apps with Windows or Linux  ?

TIA.

GeoffTF

dino2020 said:

However many Banking institutions are becoming more App based, some of the Start Ups like Monzo etc being almost 100% App baseD , so expect it will not be too long before the big boys do the same and ditch browser based methods.

While we currently use a Laptop for our banking, can see from this thread that we will need to move to something App based before too long and as mentioned a Tablet seems the way.

I would not worry about that. I am sure that the big banks will support online banking for more than long enough. They have an obligation to support customers with visual and dexterity problems. A tablet will be more difficult to use than a laptop with a mouse. It would be better to go in the opposite direction and use a desktop, if you have the space.

wmb194

dino2020 said:

Hi,

Its been an interesting 10 pages to read and leant some new things like Atomic Linux.

Would like to ask advice by expanding the OPs question in two areas.

First many older folk like us find using a mobile physically difficult with small screens and touch functions and although we have tried using GooglePay etc its always a struggle when you have your hands full of shopping etc.

However many Banking institutions are becoming more App based, some of the Start Ups like Monzo etc being almost 100% App baseD , so expect it will not be too long before the big boys do the same and ditch browser based methods.

While we currently use a Laptop for our banking, can see from this thread that we will need to move to something App based before too long and as mentioned a Tablet seems the way..

Although there are lots on 11” + Tablets around many of the more budget ones like the Samsung A9+ will only update From Android 13 to 14 , so wonder how secure it would be for banking with Android 15 now being out, never mine 16 onwards ?

Have also seen mention of running Phone Apps tethered to Windows though wonder if Banking Apps would automatically stop that for security reasons ?

Gather on Linux that Apps can be run using WayDroid but again not idea if that includes Banking App ?.

Has anyone tried and used  banking Apps with Windows or Linux  ?

TIA.

You can connect phones and tablets to monitors (and keyboards and mice).

You can also screen mirror them onto smart TVs or via connected devices like e.g., AppleTV but some banking apps are blocked from working because they detect you're screen sharing. 

I tested a few: Lloyds works without complaint, Santander gives a warning about screen sharing but allows you to continue but RBS & NatWest refuse to run saying they don’t support screen sharing. You have the same issue if you remote control them with a PC.