# How Secure is Internet Banking



## TonyE (Aug 1, 2007)

What are your feelings on internet banking compared to the traditional way of banking and paying bills on line. Is the traditional way of paying bills using the mailing system safer than using on line banking?


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## MeanDean (Apr 16, 2002)

TonyE said:


> What are your feelings on internet banking compared to the traditional way of banking and paying bills on line. Is the traditional way of paying bills using the mailing system safer than using on line banking?


Gimme your account # and your wep key and I'll letcha know !-)


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Don't really bank on line, but I do pay bills on line from credit cards to hospital bills, things like that I have no worries.
And I have sold and bought things on Ebay, and used Paypal without any problems either.


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## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

Agree with AK been doing it for years. No issues.

L


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## TonyE (Aug 1, 2007)

Is there any way some hacker can get into my account on line, is this possible?


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## pixelphotograph (Apr 8, 2007)

If you do anything online you are vulnerable PERIOD.


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## morrowsmowers (Jun 14, 2004)

It's not so much a matter of a hacker intercepting your transactions while you are doing them online as it is a matter of someone getting into the bank or credit card companies data base and getting information they can use. Even if you pay be cash or check, your information is stored on computers all the time. If someone gets into that information, they can attempt to use it. You can't always keep everything about yourself private but you can take measures to make sure that what they get they can't use.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

TonyE said:


> What are your feelings on internet banking compared to the traditional way of banking and paying bills on line. Is the traditional way of paying bills using the mailing system safer than using on line banking?


Ill field this one. I work for a large regional bank as a server administrator, I (and others) are responsible for managing server that run most aspects of the bank including online banking. First thing to understand is "online banking" is a service and what service offered will vary from bank to bank. In fact many smaller banks that offer online banking dont run there own system but contract out the service to other banks or providers. Even if the logo on the web site is for your bank the equipment may belong to another bank. For small banks this is common practice to outsource many services. The banking industry as a whole is very regulated, controlled and monitored so if your with a FDIC insured bank you can be pretty confident that anyway you handle your money you have some protection. 

Now can a hacker get your info, yes its possible but if they do more than likely its YOUR fault. You should NEVER store you login or password on your computer for financial institutions, never auto populate login fields. Always type the login and password information yourself. The connection from the web browser to the banking computer should always be encrypted, this should automaticly happen when you connect to the banking site.

Also keep in mind that even if I have your login and password you still have to get at the money, Your not going to be able to go to the local bank and get the money out with the online banking info. Money needs to be sent somewhere, they can just transfer money to another account that isnt setup and setup takes several days, they can "bill pay" them self if your bank offers that service but again that takes time and usually has some bank interaction for first time payments. You should always look at your online banking on a weekly basis, know what is normal and not normal transactions. You should know what security features your online bank offers, some offer email notifications everytime you login, some offer login logs, some will auto flag unusual activity, paying (ie, paying $4000 to someone when you never pay over $500 for any bill). 


Is it safer than in person, well its a coin toss. I could get mugged on the way to bank or post office to mail a bill. I can be cheaper, our bank doesnt charge an online fee, it can be much more convenient. I work all day and dont have time to go to the bank, 3am is a great time for me to do my bills.


Overall its safe, many of the holes are on the user side not being responsible for there part of the security.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Gary in ohio said:


> Overall its safe


True. The short answer is that online banking uses a secure socket later (SSL) with 128-bit strong encryption, which is sufficiently secure for online bank and credit card transactions.

Here is what Verisign says about it.

_High-level encryption, at 128 bits, can calculate 288 times as many combinations as 40-bit encryption. Thatâs over a trillion times a trillion times stronger. A hacker with the time, tools, and motivation to crack 40-bit encryption would require a trillion years to break into a session protected by an SGC-enabled certificate._


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## pixelphotograph (Apr 8, 2007)

128 bit encryption please thats like putting a piece of tape across your door and thinking people are going to be kept out by it.
For the average person 128 is ok but a true hacker can crack 128 crypto in a few hours or less with a decent home computer bought off store shelfs.
crypto is highly over rated. It keeps the honest people out but not the true bad guys.


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## TonyE (Aug 1, 2007)

Thanks again to you all for such great help in understanding the nuts and bolts of on line banking.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

pixelphotograph said:


> 128 bit encryption please thats like putting a piece of tape across your door and thinking people are going to be kept out by it.
> For the average person 128 is ok but a true hacker can crack 128 crypto in a few hours or less with a decent home computer bought off store shelfs.
> crypto is highly over rated. It keeps the honest people out but not the true bad guys.


But you have at least two and in many cases 3 layers of encryption. If your on wifi and have encryption on your have a link layer encrypted, then you have the ssl session layer and then you often have application level encryption. All have to be decrpted realtime to get at your password.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

pixelphotograph said:


> 128 bit encryption please thats like putting a piece of tape across your door and thinking people are going to be kept out by it.
> For the average person 128 is ok but a true hacker can crack 128 crypto in a few hours or less with a decent home computer bought off store shelfs.
> crypto is highly over rated. It keeps the honest people out but not the true bad guys.


I've been processing online credit card payments using SSL & 128-bit strong encryption for seven years now and have never had a problem.


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## pixelphotograph (Apr 8, 2007)

"I've been processing online credit card payments using SSL & 128-bit strong encryption for seven years now and have never had a problem."


ok


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