Online Banking

Online banking scares a lot of people. Why? We have no idea but we guess that it's less comforting to stare at a computer screen than staring at an actual person. (For the record, we've never won a staring contest with a computer. It just won't blink).

On a more serious note, most banks have discovered that charging customers for getting paper statements is a great way to make a little money every month. But, there is a way to prevent them from taking your money from you. Most of the banks which charge their customers for paper statements allow them to sign up for free eStatements, i.e. online banking. We're here to help you transition.

Since you're already transitioning you should check out yesterday's article on Checking Accounts before proceeding. Whether you decide to stick with your bank or if you decide to change to another bank you should know that the first thing you should be concerned with is computer security.

"What?" You ask. "Computer security? Are you nuts?"

Nope. Computer security IS the most important part of online banking no matter where you live or what bank you use. We don't want to get too detailed but there are a few things you should know before you decide to sign up for online banking.

First, don't sign up for online banking on a public computer. Try to avoid shared computers as well. You're going to want to know what websites your computer's visited and whether it's necessary to run security programs before banking online.

Second, if you don't have an anti-virus program you should assume your computer is infected. Many people use paid programs like Kaspersky, McAfee, and Norton
but we prefer free programs like Avast or AVG. (For the record, we favor Avast).

Third, if you don't have a general anti-malware program like Malwarebytes you should assume your computer is infected. Malwarebytes comes as a Paid or free version. (As far as we can tell there's not much difference between the paid and free version).

[Note on second and third points: Those of you with Macs, you're system is more vulnerable than any other system. Sorry.]

Fourth, you should run your anti-virus and anti-malware programs before signing up for online banking and before you sign into your online banking account (if you've been somewhere suspicious online).

Fifth and final point, when you sign up for online banking pick hard to hack passwords. John Pozadzides wrote a great article on Lifehacker Australia on this subject a few months ago. For more information I'd take a look at this Lifehacker (America) page. The password is, in some ways, the most important part of securing your online banking.

"So," you ask. "Is there anything else I need to know before signing up for online banking?"

Well, there are some incentives, like Online Bill Pay, which we'll cover at a later date but, for now, all you really need to know is that your bank is going to require an email address. You're going to want to make sure your email address has a secure password (otherwise a thief could break into your email and have your bank reset your online password via sending a link to your email and gain access to your account(s)). Our advice is to routinely delete any email correspondence the bank sends you to make it harder for thieves to find out where you bank. Other than that, online banking is a pretty secure endeavor so long as you remain security conscious and don't expose yourself to unnecessary risks. And remember to enroll in eStatements so you aren't charged for paper statements.