The Internet has infiltrated our daily lives and we are becoming more and more dependent on it. Once considered a luxury, the internet is now a necessity. Whether it’s official work, entertainment, socializing, shopping, or even banking, we rely on the internet frequently to go about our routine activities.
However, managing your finances through the internet is still a risky business. Cybersecurity remains a hot issue and you have a valid reason to be worried about online privacy and security in Canada. Online banking allows you to conveniently send, track, or manage your financials with just a few clicks right from your smartphone.
Online banking is slowly phasing out physical banking around the globe including in Canada. However, you must take the necessary precautions while managing your bank account virtually. For that purpose you should use the best VPNs for online activities in Canada to keep your hard-earned money safe from hackers.
Unfortunately, using online banking provides cybercriminals accessible gateways to steal your money. Bank robberies are now carried out through the internet, after all, the robbers also go fully risk-free. All they do is steal your sensitive personal credentials and then use this information to wipe out your bank account. By the time you sense some suspicion, it’s already too late.
To keep your hard-earned wages and savings safe, let’s discuss 5 tips to keep your bank information protected online in Canada.
1. Make Sure Your Password Strength is High and Change Them Often
Managing and remembering so many passwords is difficult. That’s why people prefer to choose those passwords which are either easy to remember or too common. Moreover, people tend to keep one password for most of their accounts, if not all.
You must ensure that you choose a strong password, and develop a habit of changing it every three months. It will keep the hackers guessing making it more difficult to decode or steal them. You can even set a reminder on your phone for a password change every 90 days.
If you have too many social media accounts and other online apps, and it’s difficult for you to remember all your passwords, you can use a password manager app.
Here are some tips for setting a strong password:
- Choose lengthier passwords, like a phrase instead of a single-word password.
- Wisely use a combo of uppercase and lowercase characters.
- Include special characters and numbers.
- Avoid using numerical sequences that are too common like “1234.”
- Don’t use your personal information in a password like your name, date of birth, pets’ names, etc.
- Never save your login details and passwords in your internet banking app.
- Use a reliable online password generator to create strong passwords.
2. Stay Away From Public Wi-Fi Networks and Insecure Internet Connections
Public Wi-Fi brings many disadvantages with it. Not only is it mostly slow, but it also doesn’t provide safe internet access. A hacker can see everything if they decide to tap into a public Wi-Fi, which includes information about your bank account login.
However, encrypted web pages can prove to be salvation in this matter with the possibility of saving you from the prying of a hacker. That is why make sure and check that if the bank URL starts with a small lock sign and “https://” not just “http://” That little “s” which may skip your eyes if you are not paying attention is what tells you if the page you are using is safe or not.
However, even if a page is encrypted, it is still a good idea to avoid any public Wi-Fi altogether.
3. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
Many banks will provide you with the option to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). While two-factor authentication has both some strengths and weaknesses, this method will still give you some extra security for sensitive account information.
If you join the two-factor authentication, you are likely to get a text message providing a one-time short password whenever you sign into your account. For some, it may seem inconvenient to do this extra step each and every time, but it is worth it.
This way if a hacker ever tries to get into your account using the login information, you will get an authentication text with a short password. That is how you will know that it was not you and you can be aware of this and take your next step accordingly.
4. Don’t Open the Suspicious Emails and Links
We all get spam emails asking us to add or give out account information or asking us to click the links provided in the email. While many people don’t do that, there are still people of the like who fall for it and become a victim of cybercrimes.
Even if the email you received seems legitimate, you should never open your online banking platform by clicking on any link provided in the email. Some hackers in order to trick you, trying to take your login info, send out these kinds of phishing emails. Banks typically would not request such information via email due to security reasons.
So you may want to bookmark your bank’s authorized website to be sure that you always use that one.
Additionally, you should always disregard the emails that ever request your sensitive information like your credit card number.
5. Never Use Automatic Login
When you use the automatic login to sign into your account, your browser automatically saves your login information like username and passcode. This function of the browser is to allow you access to your bank account without having to remember your login info. While that may feel convenient to you, it is not safe to do this.
You should never use the automatic login ever at all, to be precise when you are using your phone doing online banking in Canada. What if you lost your phone? Or got your phone swiped? That person wouldn’t even have to know any of your usernames and passwords to tap into your bank account.
So, if you have not disabled this feature already on your phone or your desktop we’d suggest that you do it right away!
You can also Read About: How to Choose The Best VPN Server
Conclusion
As the world is moving towards automation, things are getting easier and more convenient. Such is the case with online banking in Canada. With a few taps, you can manage your financial accounts and even pay for online purchases. But it’s important to take all the precautions while using online banking channels. Follow our tips and keep your banking information protected online!
