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Points to remember when log­ging in

When log­ging into your e-banking facility, you have to enter sen­si­tive and pri­vate details (for instance your pass­word). This is how to do so in a secure manner.

The most impor­tant points to remember:

  • Always enter the address for your finan­cial institution’s log-in page man­u­ally via the browser address line. Never use a link or search engine to log in.
  • Make sure you are using a secure con­nec­tion (with https://, a lock symbol and the cor­rect domain name dis­played in the address line).
  • Imme­di­ately ter­mi­nate the con­nec­tion in case of any system dis­rup­tions or if any unusual error mes­sages appear.
  • On the go, make sure that you con­ceal your log-in infor­ma­tion when log­ging in, and that no-one looks over your shoulder while you do so.

Securely nav­i­gate to your finan­cial insti­tu­tion website

To avoid falling victim to a phishing attempt, you should make sure that you are actu­ally con­nected to your finan­cial insti­tu­tion before log­ging into your e-banking facility.

To do so, always enter the address for your finan­cial institution’s e-banking page man­u­ally via the browser address line. Never use any links you were sent, e. g. via e-mail or SMS, and no search engines such as Google, Bing or sim­ilar either!

We also rec­om­mend to only ever use your e-banking facility on a familiar and secure device (“5 steps for your dig­ital secu­rity”)  (i.e. don’t use any public devices in a hotel, etc.).

Check that the con­nec­tion is secure

Since you have to enter sen­si­tive and pri­vate details (for instance your pass­word) to log in, you have to use a pro­tected con­nec­tion to your finan­cial institution.

An SSL con­nec­tion which has been cor­rectly estab­lished with the proper web­site and which is based on an authentic and valid cer­tifi­cate - i.e. a secure con­nec­tion - can be recog­nised by the fol­lowing three clear browser characteristics:

  1. A lock symbol in the address line
    This con­nec­tion was encrypted using a valid SSL certificate.
  2. The cor­rect finan­cial institution’s name (this is either dis­played next to the lock or after clicking the lock, under “Issued for”) 
    The iden­tify of the cer­tifi­cate owner (the bank) has been confirmed.
  3. Cor­rect domain name in the address line
    You are actu­ally on the finan­cial institution’s website.

Google Chrome:

Microsoft Edge:

Mozilla Firefox:

Apple Safari:

 

You can read up here how to check the certificate.

Note: Some finan­cial insti­tu­tions offer a spe­cific pro­gram (soft­ware, e. g. a hard­ened browser) for accessing their e-banking facility. This allows for some addi­tional secu­rity checks (e. g. cer­tifi­cate checks) to be run. Depending on the soft­ware used, the above two actions “Securely nav­i­gate to your finan­cial insti­tu­tion web­site” and “Check that the con­nec­tion is secure” are then irrel­e­vant, or you may not even be able to per­form them.

Cau­tion in case of system dis­rup­tions or unusual errors messages

If there is a system inter­rup­tion while log­ging into your e-banking facility (for instance a white screen sud­denly appears), or if there are any unusual error mes­sages, (for instance “The system is cur­rently over­loaded. Please be patient and try again a bit later”), you should imme­di­ately ter­mi­nate the con­nec­tion and notify the support/help desk of your finan­cial insti­tu­tion.

A detailed descrip­tion of respec­tive log-in pro­ce­dures for your e-banking facility can also be found here:

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When log­ging in, this means users start a ses­sion with their e-banking system.

Fig­u­ra­tively speaking, the finan­cial insti­tu­tion is opening some­thing like a door to users, which grants them access to their e-banking features.

Find out here what to remember when e-banking.

Find out here what to remember when log­ging out.

What else would you like to learn about security when e-banking?

Reg­ister for a course now
and learn more:

Basic course

Find out about cur­rent Internet threats and some easy pro­tec­tive mea­sures, and how to securely use e-banking.

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Online course mobile banking/payments

Find out about mobile banking, mobile pay­ments and how to securely use these apps.

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Online course for the under-30s

Learn how to use your smart­phone securely. Next to basics, we will show you what you should know about social media, clouds, mobile banking and mobile payments.

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Course for SMEs

Is your organ­i­sa­tion suf­fi­ciently secure? Learn which mea­sures you can take to sig­nif­i­cantly strengthen your organisation’s IT security.

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