What is the safest technical setup for online banking ?

GeoffTF

jj20 said:

Geoff -  are Samsung the only ones with longer updates on them?   I had a brief look at the a16 which seem to have mixed reviews, but I agree getting a cheaper phone with less updates is probably not the best idea. 

Yes, when I last looked that was certainly true for budget phones. The main criticism of the A16 is that it is likely to be slow after six year's updates. Nonetheless, it should still be fine for basic stuff. The A26 followed by the A36 are the next two steps up, but they are more expensive. The A16 is fine as a pensioner's phone, but it will not please the youngsters who pod their phones for several hours a day.

jj20

Well I'm not a pensioner for a while yet ha, but thanks for the advice. 

flaneurs_lobster

GeoffTF said:

The A16 is fine as a pensioner's phone, but it will not please the youngsters who pod their phones for several hours a day.

Well this pensioner is, er, budding it down with the youth on my Z Flip6. Only has my daily spending accounts on there though.

The banking apps (a lot) live on a Samsung A54 that doesn't leave the house.

Nasqueron

jj20 said:

Thanks everyone who replied ( I don't know how to reply to individual posts).
Matt - I've been incredibly nervous of doing things online since I got my email account hacked years ago (my mistake by clicking on a security link), and I know I'd get very flustered if anyone phoned pretending to be from the bank etc.   

If they ring you up claiming to be the bank, hang up and call the bank on the number on your card (or in their official website)

Do banks etc ever phone you regarding your accounts, and if yes, how would you verify they are genuine? 

Sometimes, they understand if you need to call back. Banks will never ask for passwords, codes etc. If in doubt, hang up and call.

Also when shopping online how do you make sure it's a genuine site as Ive read they can copy genuine sites now? 

Use sites with https security and double check spelling, bookmark/favourite the sites, don't google them each time

I know cash is dying out but I will continue to use as long as I can because I think it's a mistake to be all digital and give government/banks total control over your money (look at the bank crashes/hacking/stopping you accessing your own money etc). 

Cash doesn't prevent that - "they" can stop you taking cash out just as easily as locking an online account. Banks already have total control of your money, where do you think cash comes from? Bank crashes equally can stop you taking money out

Geoff - OK, it seems it's best to have long security updates then to be on the safe side.  Im looking at a few phones at the moment (mostly under £150), such as xiaomi, Motorola, honor etc but was unsure which to get as there is just so many of them.  Il check out the Samsung one though.

Dino - good to know that the Samsung a16 is a good phone, and I'm similar to you in that eyesight conditions and arthitus in hands cause difficulties for me too.   All the phones seem huge to me now but I could do with a smaller sized phone for calls but a bigger one for the other stuff ha.

Thanks. 

Answers above in bold
Look for phones that offer 3-6 years of updates and decent spec, you may well find a budget phone might get 6 years of updates but is unusable by the end

Olenna

Get a decent Samsung - any recent S series, recent A3x or A5x series for a better experience.
I would personally avoid A0x, A1x or A2x series as these are basic models. 

GeoffTF

Olenna said:

Get a decent Samsung - any recent S series, recent A3x or A5x series for a better experience.
I would personally avoid A0x, A1x or A2x series as these are basic models. 

The cheapest of those is the A36, which is more than twice the price of the A16 4G. The A16 should be adequate as a phone and for SMS, email, satnav and mobile banking for 5-6 years. The A36 will not do the job securely for any longer. If you buy a used phone, it will have less secure life.

Eyeful

Monanore

You could always consider doing your online banking on a cheap Chromebook. The operating system is a new clean install every time you switch on.

sausage_time

Eyeful said:

Monanore

You could always consider doing your online banking on a cheap Chromebook. The operating system is a new clean install every time you switch on.

Or if you have an old PC that won't run Windows any more consider installing ChromOS Flex or even better Linux (Ubuntu would be a good starting point).  Once installed will be self maintaining.