Is it safe to use a VPN for banking purposes?

VPNs are secure to use when banking online. Your data will not be compromised by using a VPN. Furthermore, VPN secures banking over public Wi-Fi and even private networks.

Encryption is, by far, the most important VPN feature. In a human lifetime, current 256-bit encryption standards are nearly difficult to crack. This is why they are often used by government agencies and VPNs alike.

In reality, VPNs are essential for keeping all of your data private while using public WiFi, including bank account logins. Hackers and other criminals can breach WiFi connections in a variety of sophisticated methods. However, if they syphon data before it reaches the VPN server, all they get is an unbreakable code that they can’t use.

It’s also necessary on your home WiFi, as it has some of the same vulnerabilities as public WiFi. Using a VPN at home for banking and other purposes, on the other hand, greatly improves your privacy. It makes it much more difficult to track you down online and hides your browsing history from ISPs (or government agencies asking ISPs to turn over your data).

Finally, employing a VPN for banking protects your account from prying eyes. When you access your bank from a different country, the bank may become suspicious. In the worst-case situation, you could lose access to your account while travelling. With a VPN, you can avoid this by connecting to a server in your home country. The bank will not be aware that you are not where it believes you are.

However, some factors can jeopardise your VPN-enabled secure banking.

When is it not safe to use a VPN for online banking?

To begin with, using a free VPN app to open an e-banking account in Malaysia is not secure. Such apps lack the resources and, in some cases, the will to provide services that are cutting-edge in terms of security technologies. Scientists looked at free Android VPN apps and discovered that 18% don’t encrypt data and 84 percent leak it. Running VPN servers, like research and development, isn’t inexpensive.

Free VPNs must make money in some way. You’ll have a slow, data-limited connection that may annoy you with adverts in the best-case situation. In the worst-case scenario, the programme will follow you and contain malware in its code – according to the previously cited study, 38% of free VPN apps contain malware. Your data, including your credit card information, can be stolen with a free VPN.

However, even the strongest VPN would be of little use if you are the one who has compromised your data. Numerous methods can be used.

One of them is going to websites that are untrustworthy or even phoney. These can appear to be real websites that you wish to visit, but their sole purpose is to steal your information once you input it. Always keeping an eye out, as well as employing programmes like CleanWeb, can be really beneficial.

To combat these passive data-theft tactics, these and other online hygiene behaviours are required. In fact, we’ve compiled a list of suggestions to help you increase your online banking security.