First time ever logging onto HMRC online services

Bookworm105

poseidon1 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

sneedshelp said:

When logging on for the first ever time, after entering Government Gateway User ID and my password, they want to send you an access code for extra security.

Is that the last stage, so once you have entered that access code, you are logged in ?

How long can you use that same access code ?

There has been a suggestion that it remains active for two weeks ?

Does that mean you can keep logging on each day using the same access code for a two week period ?

What @Ayr_Rage said.

Why not use the App though, then all you need is your fingerprint or a 6 digit pin of your own choosing.

Once you are in the App a lot of things, like the State Pension section, just take you to the web version anyway.

I do wonder why so few people appear to have migrated to either Apple or Android tablets to access accounts with the benefit of App access.

Laptops seem slow,  cumbersome and so last century by comparison. I uploaded the HMRC app to my Samsung tablet, as soon as HMRC made it available  and now benefit from lightening fast fingerprint access to my account, with none of this access code, three factor verification tedium.

My laptop has all but been retired from regular use for anything other than completing my self assessment tax return via third party software  ( the larger 15 inch screen more convenient for this task).

Writing this on the samsung tablet.

being somewhat of a luddite myself, I wonder about the "need" to physically wipe the screen to remove the fingerprint. After all forensic science developed methods to lift fingerprints off surfaces many moons ago, and whilst it may be a bit James Bond, the idea of using a bit of tape with the print now on it can't be that far fetched.

bad enough having to enter the PIN to my phone each time. Hold it at a certain angle in light and it is very obvious what digits get punched. So yes, I do wipe my screen with a cloth after every use.

poseidon1

Bookworm105 said:

poseidon1 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

sneedshelp said:

When logging on for the first ever time, after entering Government Gateway User ID and my password, they want to send you an access code for extra security.

Is that the last stage, so once you have entered that access code, you are logged in ?

How long can you use that same access code ?

There has been a suggestion that it remains active for two weeks ?

Does that mean you can keep logging on each day using the same access code for a two week period ?

What @Ayr_Rage said.

Why not use the App though, then all you need is your fingerprint or a 6 digit pin of your own choosing.

Once you are in the App a lot of things, like the State Pension section, just take you to the web version anyway.

I do wonder why so few people appear to have migrated to either Apple or Android tablets to access accounts with the benefit of App access.

Laptops seem slow,  cumbersome and so last century by comparison. I uploaded the HMRC app to my Samsung tablet, as soon as HMRC made it available  and now benefit from lightening fast fingerprint access to my account, with none of this access code, three factor verification tedium.

My laptop has all but been retired from regular use for anything other than completing my self assessment tax return via third party software  ( the larger 15 inch screen more convenient for this task).

Writing this on the samsung tablet.

being somewhat of a luddite myself, I wonder about the "need" to physically wipe the screen to remove the fingerprint. After all forensic science developed methods to lift fingerprints off surfaces many moons ago, and whilst it may be a bit James Bond, the idea of using a bit of tape with the print now on it can't be that far fetched.

bad enough having to enter the PIN to my phone each time. Hold it at a certain angle in light and it is very obvious what digits get punched. So yes, I do wipe my screen with a cloth after every use.

Bookworm105, I am surprised you self describe as a 'Luddite'.

Having seen a fair number of your highly erudite and informed responses on a variety of subject matter, in my minds eye I saw you has a person not only technically qualified in your field, but also an adept at accessing and utilising  useful 'tech' in your private / professional life. 

That said you make a fair point, about the potential vulnerability of inscreen finger print readers, which I do have on my phone.

However as regards the tablet the 'reader' is located on a very slim physical button on the side of the device, where it is impossible to lift anything other than a slim partial print. I suppose not an impossibility for a 'hacker' with highly advanced infiltration skills, but I would hope by the time I discovered the loss of the device by way of house burglary, I would have intiated remote locking and data wiping to forestall an attempt to 'jailbreak ' the device by the miscreants.

I do agree, you can't be too careful these days.