Online banking overview
It is essential that you protect your banking information if you use online systems to access your accounts. Internet banking can seem problematic when you consider the
number of ways that your login data could potentially be intercepted or
stolen. But don't worry. By following the advice in our articles about
various aspects of safe website surfing and data security, you can help to make sure your banking information remains safe.
Secure browsing
Browsing securely is of the utmost importance when considering online banking. Take a look at our tips to help protect yourself.
Hoax emails
Hoax emails claiming to be from financial institutions are
commonplace and can seem convincingly genuine. Follow our guide to help
spot and avoid hoax emails.
Fake sites
Sites mimicking those of financial institutions go hand in hand with
hoax emails. Again, these can be designed to look and act exactly like
the real thing. There are some tell tale signs to look out for. Always
be alert when entering your online banking details. Read more about how
to spot fake sites.
Data security
Keeping your banking data secure is paramount. Following our
guidelines for data security can help protect your valuable banking
information.
Online banking access
When accessing your details using public computers you should be aware of further security issues such as keystroke capturing software. For more information read our guide on accessing your details on public computers.
Bank safely online - how to protect yourself
Online banking is an enormously popular and safe way to access your
bank account, but it pays to be aware of the ways in which criminals can
try to gain access to your account and to learn how to protect yourself
and your money.
If at any point you feel your banking information has been
compromised, change your password and security questions immediately.
You should also contact the financial institution that you bank with to
ask their advice on how to secure your details, and to alert them of any
suspicious account activity.
Bank Safe online provides some useful information on how to protect yourself when doing your banking online.
Cookies Overview
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are used by many websites to improve their services, and make using the web faster and easier. They act like an ID card, allowing a website to recognise you when you return. So for instance they might record your username, so you don’t have to keep entering your password each time you come back, or an online shop might record the contents of your shopping basket so you can view it the next time you return.They also come in handy for websites that allow you to customise a page so that it looks the same each time you visit – like setting your postcode on the BBC’s weather site.
Although most people don’t like the idea of others seeing what websites they’ve visited, without cookies, every time you clicked on a different page on a site, you wouldn’t be recognised and might even have to log in each time. This would make things like online shopping difficult and long-winded. It would also make it harder for website designers to improve content or design based on which pages are most or least popular.
Uses for cookies:
<ul>How cookies work
Cookies work by storing small items of text information on your hard drive, which is then transferred to your browser when you browse to the relevant site. Temporary cookies are stored temporarily in your browser’s memory and deleted as soon as the session ends. Permanent cookies are stored on your hard drive and recreated the next time you visit the site.Cocerns about cookies
Some people have concerns about anyone, especially businesses, storing any kind of information about them. They can open your computer to more ads than you would normally need to see – and make them more relevant to your interests, whether you want them to or not. They can also be used to record personal information such as your email address and credit card details – with legitimate sites this will be encrypted but there’s still a risk that a site could be hacked.Cookies can’t harm your computer – they’re simply text files that just sit in your hard drive unless they’re required or deleted. They’re not executable files, so they can’t give your computer a virus.
BUT, cookies can sometimes be used by fraudsters to track your interests and viewing habits and so build up a profile of you.
How to control cookies
Modern browsers allow you to set options to alert you when cookies are required by a website and to control which cookies you accept. For the most part, they’re harmless, and make using the web easier. But if you have concerns, simply choose not to accept them. Set your browser to warn you whenever a cookie is installed, and turn them on and off, on a site-by-site basis, depending on which ones you trust. Look in the privacy options of your browser’s settings menu.Data watchdog ICO has a cookie reporting tool that allows you to report cookies that you think are gathering more information about you than is necessary. They’ll then evaluate the site and take action if needs be.
identity theft?
What’s identity theft?
Your identity and your reputation are precious assets and it’s very important to look after them at all times when you’re online.
If criminals get hold of your personal details they can use them to
open your bank accounts and get credit cards, loans, state benefits and
documents such as passports and driving licences in your name. They can
be very clever with the tricks they use too, with all sorts of online
scams to trick you into sharing information. Sometimes they even rifle
through bins looking for receipts and other documents to access your
personal details.
And once they’ve got your details, they can effectively steal your
online identity. To stop that happening, you need to know how to protect
yourself, and what to do if identity theft happens to you.
Protecting your personal information
Be very careful about the personal information you share online.
There’s no delete button on the internet – if you publish personal
information like your date of birth, address or dates when you’re going
on holiday, even if you delete it later, you don’t know who might have
seen it, saved it, or used it. Think twice before publishing something
you might later regret.
That’s why you should be careful about sharing information on social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as your blog or
personal website. Identity thieves can piece together your identity from
several sources to get the full story.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult to protect yourself, so long as you know what to do. Here are a few ideas:
Don’t publish the details of this special email account to friends or on social networking sites or use it for general shopping sites. Use a different password, and for extra security, use a different email host from your main account.
It’s more difficult to remember different passwords for different
sites, but it’s definitely worth the effort. For example, if there’s a
security breach at your social networking site, and criminals get access
to your password, they’ll be free to try using it on your other
accounts, like your bank.
3. Consider password manager software or online data safes
To help you keep your passwords, user IDs and other sensitive
information safe somewhere other than in your head (where you might
forget it) or written down (where anyone can find it), consider using
password manager software or an online data safe. Many types of
security and anti-virus software (such as Kaspersky PURE, Norton and
McAfee) include a password manager. You can store all your user
log-in IDs and passwords within the software, and the password manager
software itself is protected by an encrypted password. So as long as you
remember the code to decrypt the password manager, you don’t need to
remember all the others.
Online data safes work in a similar way – all the information you
choose to save is encrypted and compressed, then stored securely online,
protected by a single encrypted code.
4. Look for the padlock symbol
When you use a website that asks for sensitive personal information
(address, phone number, bank details etc) always look for the padlock
symbol that should be displayed. This means that the website is
encrypting the internet connection – if it’s not there, then don’t fill
in any forms asking you for personal information.
5. Beware of unsolicited emails
Don’t open unsolicited emails as they can contain links to malware,
computer code that can infect your computer. If you do open one by
mistake, don’t click on any links or reply it.
6. Shred confidential waste
To stop criminals stealing confidential information from your
dustbin, make sure you shred or make unreadable anything with your
address, bank details or other personal information before you throw it
away or recycle it
More
Protect yourself against identity theft with our Knowthenet guides:
Viruses Overview
What’s a computer virus?
A computer virus spreads from one computer to another by infecting
another file, usually a type of program. Once you’ve got one, it might
slow down your computer, or damage it, or be used by criminals.
There are a vast amount of malicious viruses roaming around the internet and they have different intentions:
- The mischief maker – some viruses will simply slow down your computer’s operating system or stop it from working properly
- The destroyer – some are more serious and are designed to attack your computer and cause irreversible damage
- The thief – others hide themselves in your computer and harvest personal information like passwords and bank details which can be passed back to the virus’s creator
How to protect your computer against viruses
The best way to protect your computer against viruses is to use a
secure antivirus program like Norton or McAfee. Also, never open
programs or email attachments unless you are sure of their origins –
even if they appear to have been sent by a friend, they may in fact be
malicious.
- Make sure that you have up-to-date security software, including antivirus, anti-spyware and a firewall.
- Block all spam emails
- Don’t respond to phishing or other suspicious emails
- Be wary of offers of free software – don’t open them unless you’re sure they’re legitimate
What to do if your computer gets a virus
If your computer gets infected, there are usually tell-tale signs. If
you notice that your computer is taking longer than usual to turn on,
has changed appearance in some way, is less responsive, or is opening
programs that you don’t recognise, it might have become infected.
If that happens, there are a few things you should and shouldn’t do:
- Don’t panic – most viruses are easy to get rid of
- Don’t ignore it either – the longer it’s on your computer, the more damage it can do, and the more likely it is to spread
- Use a free virus scanner like Norton Security Scanner or McAfee Security Scan to check your computer – they’ll run diagnostic checks to identify any known viruses they find there
- Install antivirus software like Norton or McAfee – they can isolate and deactivate most viruses
- If you still can’t get rid of your virus, you could reformat your computer and reinstall the operating system, but this will mean losing everything you have stored on your computer including files, programs and other data
If all else fails, take your computer to a professional repair technician
There are four basic types of computer virus:
Top tips to avoid Cybercrime
With a mixture of common sense and knowledge of the risks, you’ll be able to avoid most types of cybercrime.
Shred or make illegible any paperwork that contains personal details before you throw it away or recycle it. Criminals can go through your bins to get receipts, letters from banks and other sensitive information that they can
- Treat all unsolicited emails (especially if you don’t know the sender) with caution and never click on links in these emails to visit unknown web sites - these could contain links to code that could affect your computer.
- Don’t open attachments in emails that you’re not expecting – they could contain a virus or code that would allow someone to control your computer.
- Don’t share files or programs with other users.
- Don’t use free software unless you know it’s reputable and safe.
- Install anti-virus software, keep it up to date and run regular security scans.
- Install the latest security updates for your computer software, also known as patches.
- Install and learn how to use a personal firewall.
- Be careful not to share personal information such as address information, bank details, telephone numbers, date of birth etc on social networking sites and other websites that don’t use encryption to secure the information you publish.
- Don’t use the same password on different websites. Although this makes it more difficult to manage your online accounts it’s worth the effort. You can use password management software and encryption to make this easier.
Shred or make illegible any paperwork that contains personal details before you throw it away or recycle it. Criminals can go through your bins to get receipts, letters from banks and other sensitive information that they can
Broadband speed overview
Broadband speed variations
Broadband is the way most people access the internet today. It offers
much faster access than the old dial-up connections, and it’s usually
faster than any mobile network too. Broadband usually offers a very
stable connection and allows you to use your phone line for calls at the
same time as you’re browsing the internet.
Broadband is usually charged for on a monthly, all-you-can-eat
tariff, which allows you to use the internet as much as you want. Mobile
tariffs do the same, but also often charge for data used – so if you go
over a certain limit in a month, you’ll be charged depending on the
amount of extra data you use. Watching a video online will use up
considerably more data than reading an email.
Speed variations
ISPs usually offer several different packages with different
connection speeds – faster connections cost more. However, broadband
providers’ ‘advertised speeds’ can be quite a bit higher than the speed
that you actually receive due to several factors:
Type of connection
Broadband is usually delivered either through your regular telephone line (known
as an ADSL connection) or through cable connections (usually associated
with cable TV services). Speeds of ADSL connections can be affected by
the distance to the telephone exchange – the further away you are, the
slower your connection will be. Cable connections can be faster,
particularly if you’re in an area served by fibre optic cables.
Personal equipment
Your computer, laptop or mobile may affect the speeds available to
you. If you’re using a Wi-Fi wireless connection, the fastest speed your
wireless router is capable of transmitting is the maximum you can have
wireless access to, regardless of how fast the wired connection is. Some
devices and operating systems are also only capable of supporting
specific broadband speeds. Viruses and spyware can also cause your internet speed to slow down.
ISPs’ equipment
While broadband ISPs may claim to supply a specific speed, local
factors such as the quality and condition of cabling can affect the
speed that you actually receive. Your ISP should be able to tell you
about the fastest available connection for your area.
Local traffic
The number of people using your ISP’s local network can have an
effect on the speeds you receive. At peak times, internet speeds will
usually slow down, as the provider’s network deals with the strain of
lots of people connecting at once. This shouldn’t cause too many
problems, as it’s the responsibility of the ISP to make sure they have
enough equipment to cope with higher numbers customers, but the effect
may still be noticeable. ISPs often have their own “traffic management
policies” as part of their terms and conditions that explain how they
try to ensure the best possible service at peak times.
Multiple users
If you’re accessing the internet on more than one computer or device,
using the same connection, the speeds of each will slow down. All
devices connected to the same internet connection will share the full
speed available.
Broadband speed tests
You can test the actual broadband speed you’re receiving by using an online broadband speed test tool:
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Standard broadband speeds may be as little as 512kbps (still almost
ten times faster than dial-up), to over 20Mbps (that’s 20,000Kbps). As
fibre optic cables continue to be rolled out throughout the UK, speeds
of 50Mbps are becoming more widely available. This provides speeds
almost 1,000 times faster than dial-up connections, and allows you to
view HD video and sophisticated graphics.
Choosing the right package
Choosing the right broadband speed is a personal preference and you
should think carefully about how you plan to use the internet before
committing yourself. If you just want some basic web browsing, emails
and downloading a video or music files from time to time, you’ll only
need a basic package.
If you plan to frequently download full movies, sophisticated video
games or any other large files you may need to consider faster speeds.
Have a chat with the ISPs available in your area before choosing to make
sure you get the best package for you.
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