Secure online banking: the 7 best tips

Secure online banking - made easy! Making transfers in a few seconds sounds tempting - but with insufficient security measures, your money can be gone in a few seconds. To prevent this from happening, we have put together the best tips for secure banking.

1. Secure online banking: domain control and security certificate

Always enter the internet address of your bank yourself and make sure that you use a secure connection for online banking. The internet address then always starts with "// ...." and receives a security certificate.

• In Firefox, a green bar appears in the address field, where you can click on the lock symbol to display the website verification for the website. This page is then considered trustworthy, the data transmission is encrypted.
• The address field is highlighted in green in Internet Explorer - further information on website identification can be found at the right end of the input field (key symbol). There you will also find the security certificate for the website you are visiting.
• Chrome has a lock symbol in front of the website address. Click on it to get more information.

2. Activate phishing protection in the browser

You can activate phishing protection for Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer. This means that if you come across a suspicious page while surfing, your browser will automatically block it. This is how you can prevent data from being stolen without being noticed:

• Go to the "Security" tab in Firefox settings. To activate phishing protection, tick the box "Protection against fraudulent content and dangerous software" everywhere.
• Internet Explorer calls these functions "SmartScreen Filters" and has listed them in the "Security" category. If not already activated, you can switch on the SmartScreen filter there.
• With Chrome, the function is activated by default and you receive a warning for questionable pages.

3. Password security for online banking

Many banks work (optionally) when logging in with alias names instead of account numbers. That means you can think of a kind of username with which you want to log in. As with passwords, there are various criteria for aliases that make account access more secure:

• Use numbers, upper and lower case letters and special characters (for example%, /, @, *).
• Choose a longer, abstract word that makes no sense.
• How can you remember that? For example, as a sentence: "Ben I will be home at 6 o'clock in the morning!" becomes the password " !"

4. TAN security

Online banking usually takes place using a TAN procedure. However, there are different options here with different security gaps.

• PIN / TAN: The old iTAN process uses a printed list of TAN numbers that you need to legitimize the transactions. However, due to various fraud cases, this is an outdated model and is only offered by a few banks.
• chipTAN / smartTAN: Here you use a TAN generator to generate a TAN number for each transfer. Criminals have a harder time here because they need exactly this number. However, there are always cases of fraud.
• mTAN / SMS-TAN: So far, the mobile TAN procedure seemed to be the safest method for online banking. You will receive your TAN by SMS on your mobile phone, including a brief detailed overview with the purpose and amount of the transfer. However, the TAN codes can be intercepted on Android smartphones.
• But: Not all banks send as many TAN SMS messages for free. You should also note that for security reasons you cannot receive an mTAN on your smartphone if you also use it to carry out online banking.
• App TAN: Some banks have developed an app-based TAN procedure. You have to open an app, log in with a password and only then will you see the TAN number for the transfer.

5. Phishing emails, hotspots and other computers

• Many users are said to receive official emails asking them to provide TANs, PINs, credit card numbers or passwords or to click on links. However, your bank will never ask you to disclose sensitive data by email or phone. The best thing to do if you are unsure is to contact your bank. Read more tips on protection against phishing emails here.
• Use hotspots (publicly accessible WLAN networks) only for surfing and not for online banking. It is not difficult for criminals to access your smartphone, tablet or laptop via an unsecured network and spy on your account details.
• You should also do without online banking for third-party devices, as you cannot rule out that your entries will be recorded. This allows criminals to easily access your name, account number and PIN.

6. Set transfer limit

Set a transfer limit in your online banking settings (for example, 1, 000 euros) so that, in the worst case, the entire account cannot be looted. Should fraudsters leave your account empty, the banks usually reimburse the damage.

$config[ads_text5] not found

7. Keep virus protection up to date

Even if you use the above tips for secure online banking, always keep your firewall and your antivirus up-to-date. Once a virus is on your computer, even the best security precautions will not help you with online banking. Good free virus tools can be found here in the CHIP leaderboard.