Online Banking - browser vulnerabilities

[tell-me-more]

I'm thinking out loud.

Can online banking really be safe if browsers have vulnerabilities that are continually being "patched up"?

Which is the safest browser for online banking at the moment, and why?

[ACtheTROLL]

how important are you?

that's the best defence you can have
every machine is vulnerable in some way ... the linux and mac brigades bang on about how safe they are ... it's not that their OSs are superior (in fact ... look on the serious security sites ...

you'll see both have many many more vulnerabilities than any version of windows) ... it's just there are so few of them in the scheme of things they're not worth the effort.

you are relatively safe accessing an https address ... but your machine is full of holes

copy you credit card number to paste into a page ... and it's not protected - quite simple code in a web page can access your clipboard.
http://www.paraesthesia.com/archive/2005/01/20 /ie-users-javascript-can-access-your-clipboard .aspx#

the worst vulnerability is stupid people
your bank account will be suspended unless ....
and 100s of idiots log into a phishing site with their id and passwords...
send an e-mail that says I love you .... and even hermits will open the mail to see who .....

there is no such thing as safest ... what you are looking for is most obscure.

either that or a company who will plug a hole within hours of it being reported and updaye your machine with the fix ....

[ChuckFickens]

Care to post a link that will show up such a massive security hole like the windows clipboard one that will work on Linux AC??

Chuck,
Linux brigade

[ACtheTROLL]

No .... no-one could be bothered writing one ;0

but look through a few of this year's problems ...
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GP TB_en-GBGB295GB295&q=linux+vulnerabilities+%2B 2008&btnG=Search&meta=

quot
additional factor is that there is less incentive for a programmer to write malware for Linux due to its relatively low desktop market share (90.66% Windows vs 0.93% Linux).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_com puter_viruses

ACtheTROLL
Window Washer Corp

[rojash]

Thank goodness I never got around to upgrading from CP/M...

[tell-me-more]

To bank online without risking someone being able to gain unauthorised access to your account seems like quite a lot of hard work.

Even if I enter my details by keyboard each time, someone could find out what I'm typing couldn't they?

[ACtheTROLL]

yep

there is no such thing as safe

you could use the onscreen keyboard ....

as we've all implied ... stupid is your worst enemy
if you are reasonably vigilant the chances are pretty much in your favour

I bank and spend my hard earned cash - and can honestly say no problems (yet)

[36TEAK36]

Barclays Bank Pinsentry is about the safest I am aware of. Pinsentry is basically your own little card reader, similar to the types you get in shops. You put your bank card in the reader and type in your PIN number, and the screen on the reader gives you an 8 digit code that you enter into your online account. The code is unique and can only be used once, so even if someone were able to obtain this code, it would be invalid because it has already been used.