When automatic teller machines, referred to as ATMs, took over the banking world, many thought that that was the extent of banking technology. But now there is a new technology opening the doors to yet another banking experience: online bill pay and online banking. With online bill pay, you can arrange for paperless billing where all of your transactions are online, you can pay automatically each month from your bank account, or you can also make onetime-only payments.

Online banking lets you track the amount of money you have in your bank accounts including checking and savings. Many banks show you exactly where your money went and they even scan in copies of the checks you wrote. But how do you keep your vital information safe while you are online?

Beware the Evil Twin

One of the biggest concerns over internet safety these days comes from threats known as “Evil Twins,” and no, we are not talking about a twisted soap opera plot. Evil Twins in the internet world refer to networks set up by con-artists and thieves alike to mimic a legitimate WiFi network. Confused? WiFi is a wireless local area network. Many WiFi hotspots are located within local coffeeshops, such as Starbucks, or restaurants.

When your laptop finds the wireless network, it is often named something like “STARBUCKS NETWORK.” Problems are created, however, when mimic networks are named similar titles meaning you may not realize that you are on a phony network. Thieves use the opportunity to steal your information. What can you do? Be sure that you know the exact name of the network to which you are connecting. Regardless of whether or not you are on the appropriate network, avoid checking your online banking or involving yourself in bill pay while on a WiFi network, most of these are insecure networks.

Other Things

Still, there are many other things that you can do to protect yourself even while at home. The first is close your browser window after you are finished with your bill pay and online banking. Do not let your computer stay connected to the internet all day unless you have to for business purposes, and if so, have a good firewall installed Also, make sure that you use ambiguous passwords that individuals could not guess, and never share computer access with strangers.