Millions of computer users now bank and trade online. The convenience of online banking and trading is not disputed, but some still wonder about safety. All large banking institutions take the time and effort to shore up security from their end to protect you and your transactions. They also know that if they don’t provide the best in security that they won’t be in business very long.
However, no matter how safe our banking and trading institutions make the process, we computer users still have some responsibility as well. To insure your safety online when performing financial transactions, follow these steps:
- Never click on links from an email that ‘appears’ to be from your bank or trading company
- Typing the address to your bank in the address bar of your browser is the safest way to browse to your bank
- If you use bookmarks or favorites to get your bank, verify that you are at the right site by looking carefully at the address in the address bar.
- Always have your Windows updates current to insure that security flaws that have arisen are corrected
- Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software current
- Use the Windows Firewall at minimum or a secondary firewall if you use a broadband connection
- Lastly, make sure you always LOG OUT of your current banking session.
Logging out of a session guarantees that the connection you created when you started your financial session is severed. All financial sites have a built-in ‘time out’ function that logs you out of your account if it does not detect activity, but why chance it. Clicking the ‘Log out” button on the web page takes no more time than clicking on the “X” and closing the window so look for it and click it for your safety.
