DON'T USE MICROSOFT WINDOWS for Internet banking, according to two security experts.
No biggie. How many people use Windows anyway? Let me check...Whoops! Biggie!
As of July 2009, Windows had approximately 93% of the market share of the client operating systems for usage on the Internet.
Source: Wikipedia
93%. So I guess it would be fair to translate the title into the following: Online Banking Dangerous for 93% of Internet Users. That fair? If so, then...as predicted...it's getting worse before it got better.
Source: Wikipedia
93%. So I guess it would be fair to translate the title into the following: Online Banking Dangerous for 93% of Internet Users. That fair? If so, then...as predicted...it's getting worse before it got better.
Let me forewarn you. The story by "The Inquirer" below targets Windows., but Windows isn't the real problem. The real problem is/are the online banking Trojans. Windows was targeted by the bad guys (and now the media) because they have a 93% market share.
At the end of the day...(see graphic above left) it is simply: "Cause and Effect and Affect and Infect." The "Cause" is TYPING/Entering data on a keyboard.
The "Effect" is online banking Trojans (which steal what you type)
The "Affect" is the Windows Operating System
The "Infect" is PC's (almost 60% infected in U.S. - PandaLabs
Let's "Reflect" for a moment. If consumers were provided with the means to swipe vs. type we would eliminate the "cause" and the effect would be that consumers would be doing the swiping instead of the bad guys.
HomeATM has stated this case since day one. But...it's a new day and at least we've reached the point whereby there is an admission that there is a problem...even if it's only 93% of the marketplace that is affected.
Industry experts started warning us about two months ago that we need two separate machines for online banking...
"The best strategy to defend against Online Banking Trojans is to use separate machines for Web surfing and funds transfer" "Using Windows, it's too dangerous to do transactions on the same machine you do for Web surfing," he says. "You can't have any crossover between them." SecureWorks Joe Stewart, one of the world's foremost authorities on botnets and targeted attacks
Again, HomeATM was aware of that from day one. Which is why HomeATM created a separate machine for online banking...it's called the SLIM and it plugs into the USB port. It's PCI 2.x Certified. It's TG-3 Certified. It uses existing bank rails. It uses existing cards. It uses existing PINs. It uses existing PC's.
It is impervious to malware, eliminates phishing and doesn't care which operating system you use, nor does it matter what browser you use.
Why? Because our SLIM authenticates the user "outside the browser" by having them Swipe their Card and Enter their PIN.
Sound familiar? Yup. Same way you access an ATM. So there would be no learning curve and a seamless transition. The only difference between ATM access and Online Banking Access is that it is done inside the safety and privacy of the consumer's "own home" instead of a public place.
Benefit? There is no threat from shoulder surfers, skimming devices or hidden camera's designed to record your PIN number. Again...
Editor's Advice: If the "only way to defend" against online Trojans is to use separate machines, I suppose banks could give away free computers in order to make consumers feel safe about online banking. Nah...I think giving away our Device is the better move.
Three Words, Don't Type, Swipe.
Three Issues (two are done) Bank Issues Card, Bank Issues PIN, Bank Issues Separate Machine (HomeATM SLIM)
Three Simple Steps (two are done for you)...Swipe, Encrypt, Transmit (via Internet not browser)
Three Issues (two are done) Bank Issues Card, Bank Issues PIN, Bank Issues Separate Machine (HomeATM SLIM)
Three Simple Steps (two are done for you)...Swipe, Encrypt, Transmit (via Internet not browser)
DON'T USE MICROSOFT WINDOWS for Internet banking,
according to two security experts.
according to two security experts.
Australia's Computer Crime Investigation Unit and the Washington Post have both warned against using Windows when accessing your bank account online. They say this is because cyber criminals build malware to attack Windows systems, which will simply fail to run on non-Windows computers.
Speaking on behalf of the New South Wales Government at the public hearing into cybercrime in Sydney, detective inspector Bruce van der Graaf urged listeners to avoid Microsoft Windows. "Use a Linux boot up disk - such as Ubuntu or some of the other flavours. Puppylinux is a nice small distribution that boots up fairly quickly," he advised.
Writing at the Washington Post, Brian Krebs "Interviewed dozens of victim companies that lost anywhere from $10,000 to $500,000 dollars because of a single malware infection. They succeeded because the bad guys were able to plant malicious software that gave them complete control over the victim's Windows computer.
Krebs also advocates using a different operating system instead of Windows, and suggests using a Linux Live CD. He believes that most of the malware in circulation today is built to attack Windows and will simply not work when it tries to run on non-Windows computers.
Krebs also pointed out that banks often can't tell the difference between legitimate bank transactions and funds transfers from hijacked Windows PCs.
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