Started online banking need some advice

Hi everyone,

I have resently started doing online banking. The present security setup has helped me to avoid any viruses for more than one year. But now i think i need to review the setup so that it will remain secure for online banking. Do you think i need some thing more?

My bank uses https, i only access bank website by directly writting the url. I have disabled the hips part of online armor, keyscrambler is free which works only in i.e and firefox and i am mainly a firefox user.

Thanks for your suggestions

with regards
Gautam

Why did you disable the HIPS? You might want to browse your banking site in a sandbox…You might want to upgrade your Avast…It has a online banking protection called avast! SafeZone™

As Chris Said, Avast pro has a feature Called SafeZone. It launches a virtual environment and you are isolated from any malware/keyloggers on your system. Download the trial version and try it out.

Thanks guys

I disabled HIPS because its very annoying, specially when i install new software even after i tick remember my disition and install mode in OA it just keep popping up, and i try new software very offen. Also i am aware of safe zone in pro version and i would really like to buy avast pro, but the problem is i don’t have a credit card and my bank doesnot allow me to transfer money in dollars through online banking and also avast does not hit the store in this part of the world. Any other suggestion?? I would like your opinion on prevex safe online? will it conflict with avast?? or all these are too much??

What version of OA Free do you have? 5.0.0.1100? If you are getting the constant nag messages from OA, and I would recommend keeping HIPS on with OA for extra protection, you may want to uninstall and reinstall as this may fix your problem. When you uninstall, your machine should default to Windows Firewall, but just check to make sure; when you install OA is will automatically turn off Windows Firewall with OA is installed. Remember to reboot twice.

Once OA is installed and registered (use your same license key), uncheck “Hide Trusted” under Programs and Autoruns to make sure nothing has a yellow question mark or is in red and blocked (unless you prefer it that way); all should be green and trusted to avoid getting the nag screen. You may get an occasional pop-up when OA sees something new, but you can avoid this esp. when installing a new program if you put OA into Learning Mode temporarily, however you have less protection while in Learning Mode so remember to put it back into Standard or Advanced Mode afterwards.

PrevX with SafeOnline (SOL) is completely compatible with both OA and Avast (see my signature) and I’ve been using all 3 for years now. PrevX w/SOL is going to be changing soon to offer more protection and the news is not released yet, so the SOL part has not been upgraded for a while but still works as it has save my butt while doing online banking several times.

I also recommend MBAB (Malwarebytes) as well.

Let me know if you have any additional questions. Thank you.

@SafeSurf: Welcome back…!!! :smiley: :-*

Thanks safesurf, i happen to be using OA 5.0.0.1097 so i guess i need to update it also i am not to much familiar with prevex with safe on line and how it works so at first i will be using it some time and if i face some problem then i will report back to this thread.

I have some reason to disable HIPS in OA and i would like your comment about it. Firstly avast have behaviour analyser and i also use winpatrol plus which also notify me about system modification and most importantly avast and winpaatrol are not that much annoying than OA, moreover winpatrol gives detailed information about the process when i click plus info, but in OA when it block something i don’t find much information and i had to do a google search to find out about it. and even if i click remember my desition and install mode in version 5.0.0.1097 it still displays 10-15 warning (about some dll, keylogger etc) when i install new software (in other occation it remain mostly silent though)so its become very annoying. I would like to know how you manage HIPS while installing new software. would not it be a bit risky to put it in learning mode while installing new software, because out of those 10-15 warning 1 may be a genuine warning.

You definitely need to upgrade OA to v.1100 and since you are using the Free version, you need to do “Manual” updates; the Premium/paid version gives you more protection and auto-updates.

I keep OA in Advanced Mode, but this also gives me more information and sometimes pop-ups, but I also like to have more control over my system.

One way to avoid getting these pop-ups is to make sure you put Avast as a “Trusted Exclusion” in OA:

Open the OA GUI > Options > Exclusions > Add (browse and find Avast and any other security software including PrevX) > click OK.

Also add OA to Avast Exclusion: Open GUI > Settings > Exclusions > Add and browse for OA (and any other security software) > OK. You may also need to do this under the Behavior Shield Trusted Processes as well.

If you do get a pop-up from OA, make sure you click “Remember my Decision” and
“Trust” if you recognize the software. If you are installing a new software, it is OK for the few minutes to put OA into Learning Mode…then reboot your machine…remember to take OA out of Learning Mode after it reboots.

I keep all my shields on in Avast, OA, and PrevX without any conflicts. They all have HIPS and analyze behavior.

If you do a lot of online banking, you may want to look and see if having the Premium OA offers you better protection.

When I download a new software, I usually don’t have to do anything unless it is a security software in which case I will put OA into Learning Mode while installing, then reboot. I make sure I include the security software as exclusions if necessary and I’ve had no conflicts. Let me know if you have any other questions.

@ Safesurf,

I am having trouble with updating OA, when i click update in status of OA it says up to date and the version is still .1097 and i have not found the 1100 installer either in cnet or in OA official website. where do you get .1100? Also i have installed prevex SOL (free) and realtime protection and malware removal are disabled ( i don’t need that right?). also i didnot see any blue or green button in browser to suggest prevex is working ( i have rebooted after installation). And i suppose i need to add my banking site under setting> prevxsafe online to be protected or prevex SOL is just install and forget type of software?

Thanks for your time and help.

There isn’t a direct installer for v.1100. You need to install the older version then it automatically updates itself after the second reboot (OA requires 2 reboots). But some users are having problems getting the update. I suggest you go to the OA forum and there is a Sticky to email one of the Administrators to notify them that you cannot get the update. They will fix this problem for you. When you email them, make sure you give them your license # and/or Key.

As for PrevX Free, you need to enable the realtime protection and malware removal for you to have protection, esp. for banking. It will not conflict with Avast or OA as long as you put Avast and OA in PrevX’s exclusions. You should see a green light in the center of the PrevX bottom toolbar indicating that it is working properly.

Let me know if you have any additional questions. Thanks.

Thanks safesurf.

I use the free version of OA so i don’t have a key. And as for prevex its actually not free i guess, because to activate the real time protection and malware removal i was asked to provide a licance. So i guess i need to buy it to use it.