Online Banking - Separate Computer?

The American Banking Association has recommended that small business should use a separate dedicated computer for online banking activities to enable proper security to be followed. The increased activity of hackers focusing on banking has made this a prudent safeguard. However, the other experts caution that if there is a lack of proper security in other parts of the system, then having a separate computer will not really help.

Having said that, the use of a separate computer probably does help in a lot of cases. It just does mean that it needs to be done right - proper segregation from the rest of the system as much as possible, and maintenance of strong controls throughout the system, which should be happening in any event.

For a commentary on the Banking Association recommendation, take a look at this article.