IPad & Security

September 25, 2012 5:06 AM

New IPad - very computer savvy - do I need to worry about security on my new IPad? I check my banking accounts everyday on my laptop and would like to use my IPad for this. Is there additional security needed (to download) or am I good to go?
posted by pamspanda to technology (7 answers total)

Nah, if you can trust Apple not to be yoinking your biznaz, there's no reason the iPad should be less secure than your desktop for that sort of thing.

Only caution I'd give is that the physical security is different. If you carry your iPad around, it's more likely to be lost/stolen than your desktop at home.
posted by Netzapper at 5:12 AM on September 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

The standard warnings about only using trustworthy networks, visiting safe websites and being very careful about what you download apply. I haven't used Itunes, but whatever you can do to verify signatures, etc on apps you install you should do every time. Don't trust that something is legit just because it has Apple's approval.
Also, phishing is more difficult to detect on mobile devices because of the small screen so watch out for that as well.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 5:35 AM on September 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't know if this is changed in IOS 6, but in IOS 5 you cannot view the security certificate of a website in Safari, so that makes it less secure.
posted by davar at 6:46 AM on September 25, 2012

It's a lot less likely (ie, there's no known way) to pick up a keylogger or other malware, so physically losing it or having your network connection compromised is the main concern. Make sure you have both a pin and have it set up for "find my iphone" so you can easily wipe it remotely. Don't let safari remember your passwords (lastpass has a nice app for the iPad). Don't use open public wifi for secure transactions (even with SSL, I'd like another layer of protection if literally all my network traffic is out in the open). I trust the cell connection more. But using a VPN is even better.
posted by pjaust at 7:28 AM on September 25, 2012

I don't know if this is changed in IOS 6, but in IOS 5 you cannot view the security certificate of a website in Safari, so that makes it less secure.

Google Chrome shows security certificates, if you need to verify anything.
posted by odinsdream at 7:30 AM on September 25, 2012

Consider always using a secure VPN when logging into important sites (or, you know, just always).

I don't know if iPhones have the option, but consider encrypting your phone in case it gets stolen.
posted by jsturgill at 8:24 AM on September 25, 2012

nthing that most security risks would be based on the networks you're using. Free public wifi is least safe, VPN connection most safe, password-protected home network is good (with a secure password, upper+lowercase letters and numbers).
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 4:42 PM on September 25, 2012