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Is Firefox (or Opera) safe to use for online banking?

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7 replies

by unclerob

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Is it safe to start using Firefox 1.0 for online banking? Does firefox offers the same 128 bit cipher strength encryption as IE6 SP1? It used to be that banking sites that I made use of required the use of the most recent version Internet Explorer running with the 128 bit encryption, does anyone know if this is this still a valid requirement for most/all online banking sites and does Firefox meet that requirement? My concern is that the firefox browser being an open source project, logic dictates that open source by it's nature lends itself to being labeled as "not secure" because it's source code is available but Internet Explorer with all of it's required security & critical patches that appear to be posted almost on a daily basis on the windows update site doesn't provide any more assurance of it's ability to be a secure browser. Basically my question is: do you think Firefox is safe enough to use to perform online banking tasks or would you still stick with the most current version of Internet Explorer for those types of tasks? Is 128-bit encryption built into all new browsers (firefox, opera, etc.)so that this isn't even a consideration anymore? It would be great to hear your opinions/viewpoints on this issue. Thanks... unclerob,wpg

7 replies

by afram

Firefox supports up to 256bit encryption, but that is rarely used.

I prefer firefox over IE.

by sitizn wille

Firefox is great, less prone to spyware and crap. Does not allow actice x unless you allow it on the page.
Would def use firefox over ie6.
SW

by jessie

I'm scared to use IE6 for online banking... insecure... open source means that 3000 users worldwide are working on ways to make it more secure... and hackers... well most of them are open source proponents and wouldn't dream of making their "baby" less secure. Open source = MORE secure!

by ozark-tek

How do I get my bank to see that FireFox supports 128-bit encryption? So far I have to go back to (hate it) IE to do banking with (hate them) CitiBank.

by gralfus

Some banking sites are constructed around IE specific code, and thus the sites can be incompatible with non-IE browsers. But if the site was designed without MS proprietary code, then Firefox will be fine.

by house

I have noticed that more and more sites have been working towards providing that sort of cross-platform compatibility. I stress this sort of compatibility a lot at work. You can always tell when a site has been poorly developed. I'm glad to see the industry leaning towards the recommended standards of the W3C and CIW's in general.

by tkeller1

I prefer Firefox. Though there are the occasional sites that (stupidly) require IE.

I also like that there is no ActiveX in Firefox. I think ActiveX is way to attractive to hackers.
And for Javascript control there is a Firefox extension, NoScript http://noscript.net/ , to give me peace of mind. Highly recommended.

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