We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that dates on the Forum are not currently showing correctly. Please bear with us while we get this fixed, and see Site feedback for updates.
What is the safest technical setup for online banking ?
Comments
-
onomatopoeia99 said:Monanore said:VPN - is it safe to entrust money traffic to a 3rd party ?I think I can do it without being too technical.Your connection to your bank is already encrypted - it's been a very long time since banks allowed you to connect to their servers without encryption.VPNs encrypt your entire connection to the internet - in the case of your connection to your bank they will be encrypting something which is already encrypted. It works, but it doesn't offer any greater security than what you had without the VPN.8
-
1. Know what to do if your phone is stolen. Device tracker from your laptop and factory reset perhaps? Always have it locked, ideally biometric lock
2. Don't keep using old passwords that got leaked in those linkedin etc. hacks
3. Don't use the same password for everything. Especially phone and email should be very different from your banking
4. Enable 2FA on everything
5. Regularly check for unexpected devices logged into your Gmail, Facebook etc
6. Don't fall for social engineering scams
7. Really don't do the one above
People attempt to hack my email accounts every hour without success.
A6_T3Gicsspaob!M01
Your passwords should look more like the one above (it's actually easy to remember, just ask me) than
Manc!ty1234 -
mark_cycling00 said:1. Know what to do if your phone is stolen.
As I said in my first reply, phones are the best security. And as OP seems to be assuming (wrongly) that a PC of some sort would be best for security (but isn't) then it would follow that if OP isn't planning to need banking facilities away from home.
So if OP takes advice from here and simply uses a smart phone with dedicated banking apps (which is the most secure way to do online banking) then only using that smartphone in the home, and never taking it out, removes most of the risk of losing it or having it nicked.4 -
Zanderman said:mark_cycling00 said:1. Know what to do if your phone is stolen.
As I said in my first reply, phones are the best security. And as OP seems to be assuming (wrongly) that a PC of some sort would be best for security (but isn't) than it would follow that if OP isn't planning to need banking facilities away from home.
So if OP takes advice from here and simply uses a smart phone with dedicated banking apps (which is the most secure way to do online banking) then only using that smartphone in the home, and never taking it out, removes most of the risk of losing it or having it nicked.
I had a mate who had his phone nicked while he was getting off the tube last year. He had just unlocked it to check something and the next minute it was gone. His email app didn't have a PIN, relying on the lock screen to protect it, so the thieves got in and reset login details to a whole bunch of stuff, including one of his banks (might have been his PayPal I'm not 100% sure), and managed to max out his credit card. Took a while to get the bank to agree it was fraudulent and reverse the the transactions.3 -
km1500 said:use the banking app on a smartphone.
don't use the same PIN as you use to unlock the phone or indeed anywhere else
if you have a Samsung phone that supports it then put the banking app in the secure folder and secure that with a different pin again
So, going back to the points above, OP's most secure option is to have an up-to-date phone - any android phone running 15 would do (or arguably an iphone) - use banking apps only, not banking websites, and keep it at home if they only want to bank whilst at home.2 -
The latest version of ios (18) on iphone allows you to restrict access to apps unless you use Face ID. So if someone stole my phone, they would be unable to access my emails unless they somehow had my face. Same is true of my banking apps.
Again, as other people have said, having strong unique passwords is key. Using a password manager like 1Password helps in this regards. Having 2FA also worth doing.
OP's suggested setup is over the top and paranoid. It's far more secure to receive bank statements electronically through an online banking portal than receiving them on paper through the post.
0 -
Great answers. Going to secure my Gmail app now.
I find they hardly anyone I speak to has a plan for what to do if phone stolen.0 -
And again, ironically despite all the above precautions, with a brand new dedicate phone with the newest software, using secure folders with biometrics and unique passwords/pins that are unfathomably long and complicated - in the vast majority of scams, they would make no difference because the victim is the one sending the money to the scammer.
I think the biggest advice to the older folk who are tech paranoid is to go and do some research on scams, there are plenty of resources out there.
In most cases, scammers are able to steal money because they are able to successfully convince their victim that their bank account has been hacked so they need to move the funds to a new 'safe' account, or because they owe tax, or because they have a once in a life investment opportunity that won't be around long, not because the victims password wasn't over 10 characters (and to a large extent, mandatory 2FA reduces the importance of a strong password).Know what you don't2 -
Thanks everyone, all very interesting and helpful.@Zanderman @Ergates - I'd always assumed that a phone was less secure, could you help me understand why I'm wrong ?0
-
As mentioned already, just keep everything updated and use strong password protection!
Once you start using Online Banking, especially with Banking apps, it will become second nature!
If your Bank/Building Society is online only, logging in via a phone can be a bit clunky, best done on Tablet/Laptop.
Up until the recent rate drop, I used the Chase app for my everyday spending, well designed, instant transfers, no fuss.
0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.4K Spending & Discounts
- 240.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.7K Life & Family
- 254.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards