Protecting Your Online Banking Information

Do you know the best way to do your online banking? Should you be using a wired connection, WiFi, or some form of powerline networking? Not sure? The reality is that for the most part what form of internet connection you use is not quite as important as you might think. However, the simple fact you are asking this question means you are taking a serious approach to your online security.

Back to the Internet Question
Most experts would agree that a wired connection tends to be more secure a powerline network or WiFi. If you are not sure what powerline networking is, it’s when your internet connection comes from the electrical power lines coming into your home. To access an Ethernet connection, the would-be thief would have to be able to enter your home with a laptop. However, as WiFi signals extend beyond the walls of your home, the same thief would simply have to be in range of your signal.

The good news is that both WiFi and powerline network routers use a variety of encryption techniques that once turned on scramble the data. To access the data, a password must be entered. At the same time, most WiFi routers use outdated WEP encryption is easily hacked. On top of this, if you don’t bother to change the factory set password, a hacker can easily change the settings in your router to direct your internet traffic to a rogue site. This same problem can occur when using third-party WiFi hotspots.

Go for Two-Step Verification
These days it seems that no matter what type of internet connection you use, someone can find a way to access your data. Most banks, financial institutions, and major sites like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, no offer a “two-step” verification option designed to protect you in the event your password is lost.

These systems require you to vouch for any login request you make, some do this when you log in from an unknown computer or location by entering a special one-time password sent to your cell phone via text messaging or through some form of authenticator such as companies like Google and Blizzard Entertainment (online games) use.

While not all financial institutions have come on board the “two-step” verification bandwagon if you are lucky enough to belong to one that does, be sure you use it. No form of online security system is completely fail-safe. But at the same time, it falls on you to do everything in your power to keep your personal banking information as secure as possible.

The idea behind this article was not to scare you into doing less of your banking online, but instead to encourage you to take the steps necessary to make it safer. It was also to encourage you to do more of your banking online and to pay more attention to your online security as well as that of your family and keep you all out of harm’s way.

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