How To Beef Up Your Online Banking Security When Mobile
If security is your big concern when doing online banking, there are a few tips you can use when doing mobile online banking. Internet security is getting more and more important all the time, and you can stay ahead of it and maintain all the flexibility that you want at the same time if you just stick to a few important guidelines.
Use a VPN at Open Wi-Fi Hotspots
If you're at a Wi-Fi hotspot that is open to everyone, such as at a coffee shop, you'll want to do any type of online banking through a secure connection. One way to do this is with a Virtual Private Tunnel. These are usually available for either a small fee per month or for free. The free ones will often have limitations, however, such as only allowing speeds that are at a few hundred kb/s, for example.
But, the main thing is that your traffic will be encrypted against outside intrusion. The reason why open Wi-Fi is dangerous to use with online banking is because anyone can see your traffic if they have the will and the right equipment. But, if you secure your traffic with encryption at 128 AES at least, then you'll make it difficult for anyone to spy on your banking.
If you want encryption at a military level, you should look for the 256-bit AES encryption. This information should be available inside the description for any VPN that you're considering.
Use Cellular Data If Necessary
It's still important to use a VPN if you can, but if you can't for whatever reason, it's safer to use your 3G or 4G plan for banking over an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot. Accessing this information is much more difficult than if you connect to Wi-Fi. If you just turn off your device's Wi-Fi, you should be able to get what you want done this way.
Password Managers
Another useful approach for using mobile online banking is to get a password manager app. This will encrypt your passwords so that anyone who gains access to your mobile device will still be unable to access your passwords. All you have to do is memorize an access password that you don't save, and then you can input this password to gain access to all of your other passwords through your mobile device.
Overall, it's important to be cautious whenever you do online banking remotely, considering the stakes. But being safe often just takes a bit of forethought.
For more information, contact a local company like TruPartner Credit Union.