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Online Banking - Cal Coast Online Online Banking - Cal Coast Online

What is Cal Coast Online?

Cal Coast Online is your online banking solution. From any PC with internet access, you can:

  • View all balances and account / loan history (see eZCardInfo for Visa system)
  • Transfer funds between your accounts, loans, and memberships
  • Make loan payments
  • See copies of paid checks
  • Schedule recurring account transfers and email notifications about your account
  • Download account activity into Microsoft Money or Quicken
  • Get E-Statements

Also, when you sign up for free Bill Pay, you can:

  • View e-bills & pay any bill online
  • Arrange email alerts for bill arrivals, due dates, and payments
  • Use multiple “funding” accounts (checking accounts) to pay bills
  • Schedule payments in advance or same day
  • Set-up recurring payments
  • Review bill and payment history
  • Obtain annual CD’s of Bill Payment history

Is it free to all members?
Yes!

How do I sign-up?
Click here and follow the instructions under the Cal Coast Online log-in

Is it Safe?

Yes! Online Banking, Bill Payment, and E-Statements can actually be safer than traditional methods of banking!

Reducing the amount of personal and financial information easily accessible on paper can reduce your chances of I.D. theft.

What security methods are used to keep my information safe?

Your financial and personal information is contained in the most secure environment using a number of different methods including; encryption, password verification, enhanced log-in security, time-out options, and server security. Read more on Security Methods:

What security should I have on my computer?

What else do I need to do to keep my information safe?

  • Do not share your password & keep it in a safe location.
  • Do not respond to emails asking for personal information (see more on Phishing).
  • Type in the URL address www.calcoastcu.org instead of following emailed links.
  • Check for the ‘https’ and lock. Genuine secure sites start with ‘https’ and will display a padlock icon on your browser. Double click the padlock to see whom the site is registered to.
  • Always log out (exit) Cal Coast Online properly.
  • Avoid installing ‘untrusted’ or ‘unknown’ software. Trading pirated software, MP3s, or the like is an invitation to disaster. Many pirated software packages are infested with spyware and malware.
  • Reconcile your accounts regularly
What Browsers are supported?

Our site is optimized for use with the following certified/recommended browsers. If you use a different browser, you may not be able to take full advantage of all the features of the site:

How can I tell what Browser version I am using?

  1. Open your browser
  2. At the top, click on HELP
  3. Select ABOUT (Name of Browser)
  4. Help will display the version of the browser you are using. Click on OK to exit.

Is Online Banking always available?

Routine Maintenance Schedule:

The system must be made unavailable for month-end processing between approximately 6:30PM to 8:30PM on the last working day of each month.

Daily maintenance is scheduled between 6:30PM to 7:00PM, which may cause the system to be unavailable for approximately 15-30 minutes.

Member Security Information

Install and maintain Anti-Virus software:
A good anti-virus package is absolutely essential to help prevent infection or detect and remove malware. Malware is short for malicious software, which is generally defined as any software that can cause damage to the computer, network, or server.

  • If you do not already have a current anti-virus program, such as Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee Antivirus, get one and maintain it without fail. Anti-virus software needs to be updated at least weekly to obtain the latest malware definitions. Updates are free and most anti-virus software can be set to “self-update” via the internet. It is also recommended that you upgrade your anti-virus software as new versions become available to purchase.
  • Use a Pop-Up blocker of some type on your browser. These are small software applications that integrate with your browser and notify you if the site you’re about to visit may be malicious or suspect. Many anti-virus packages come with a real-time component that performs this function as well. Check with the vendor to determine the capabilities of your software.

Install and maintain Anti-Spyware Software:
Spyware is software that is installed on your computer, either as part of a downloaded program, or secretly when you visit an infected web site. The primary purpose is to track your web activity, and potentially track and report everything done on your computer to someone else. These include URL recorders; keyloggers, which can capture any data you enter; chat monitors; screen recorders; program loggers and more.

The captured data is then sold to identity thieves or unscrupulous marketers who then take advantage of your private information.

Maintain a Firewall:
A firewall is a protective boundary that monitors and restricts information that travels between your computer and a network or the Internet. This provides an essential line-of- defense against someone who might try to remotely access your computer without your permission or knowledge.

Firewalls are either software-based or hardware-based. Software based firewalls are essentially a program running in the background that monitor all traffic between your computer and the Internet. They can interfere with the proper operation of some programs, and can require a “break-in” period as you identify safe sites and exclude unsafe sites for the access list.

Hardware based firewalls are physically separate devices that sit between your computer and your internet connection. They perform the same type of monitoring and will allow or deny traffic from remote locations based on your decisions. An advantage of hardware firewalls is that they typically allow you to connect more than one computer to the same internet connection and provide the same security for all connected systems.

It is possible to use both hardware and software firewalls at the same time, although the configuration will be a bit more complex.

  • Some current versions of anti-virus software include firewall protection. Check with your vendor’s recommendations. If you are running Windows XP you can use the built-in software firewall under Control Panel. Only one software firewall should be active at once.

While California Coast Credit Union does not promote or recommend one firewall product over another, we present the following list of URLs as a starting point for your independent review and consideration and suggest you use the Internet search engine of your choice to obtain more information on this subject:

http://www.linksys.com
http://www.netgear.com
http://www.sohoware.com
http://www.3com.com
http://www.smc.com

Ensure that your operating system is up-to-date:
Many spywares and malwares gain entrance to your PC because of security vulnerabilities in often-used programs, such as your web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer), or even the operating system itself (e.g. Microsoft Windows). Because of this it is vital to regularly follow your software and operating system vendors’ recommendations and apply security patches as soon as they become available.

  • Check your vendors website to ensure that your web browser and operating system are updated with the latest security patches. Updates are free and can usually be set to “self-update” via the internet.

Disclaimer: “The above mentioned programs and website links are not intended to be complete, or construed to be an endorsement or guarantee by California Coast Credit Union.

Security Methods

Your financial and personal information is contained in the most secure environment using a number of different methods:

  • Encryption: (Link to Encryption below)One of the basic tools used to ensure Internet security is encryption. Encryption involves exchanging numbers between the end user's browser and the Internet banking server. The numbers act as keys to “unlock” the connection between browser and server, much like numbers on a combination lock. The higher the number of combinations, the less likely it is that an outside party could decipher the key and access sensitive information. View more information on encryption.
  • Password Verification: It is also important to verify that only authorized users log into the Internet banking system. We use password verification to ensure user authorization. For added security, if a password is entered incorrectly five times, we automatically lock the Internet banking account.
  • Time-Out: We also “time out” an Internet banking session after a specified period of inactivity. This keeps others from viewing or continuing Internet banking activity if you leave your PC unattended.
  • Server Security: We have structured our network architecture so that the servers, which store your actual account information, are NOT connected to the Internet. Our Internet banking servers handles requests made through the Internet.


Summary of Security:

All of our systems are secured with multiple layers of encryption, firewalls, screening, and filtering routers. All sensitive data is protected from direct access from the Internet by employing the following measures:

  • Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Encryption provides a secure channel for data transmission across computer networks using public key cryptography.
  • Two-Part Password Protection ensures even greater security. The first part is chosen by the member; the second part is randomly generated.
  • User Options allow members to change passwords and time-out periods.
  • Firewalls and Redundant Screening/Filtering Routers are gateways that verify the source, destination, and protocol of each data packet before it is sent.
  • We comply with an SAS70 Audit, performed by one of the Big 6 Accounting Firms.
  • We hire an independent firm to routinely perform penetration and security testing to ensure there are no holes in our security procedures.

Encryption

The privacy of communications between you (your browser) and our servers is ensured via encryption. Encryption scrambles messages exchanged between your browser and our online banking server.

How Encryption Works

  • When visiting logging in to Cal Coast Online, your browser establishes a secure session with our server.
  • The secure session is established using a protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Encryption. This protocol requires the exchange of what are called public and private keys.
  • Keys are random numbers chosen for that session and are only known between your browser and our server. Once keys are exchanged, your browser will use the numbers to scramble (encrypt) the messages sent between your browser and our server.
  • Both sides require the keys because they need to descramble (decrypt) messages received. The SSL protocol assures privacy, but also ensures no other website can "impersonate" our financial institution's website, nor alter information sent.
  • To learn whether your browser is in secure mode, look for the secured lock symbol at the bottom of your browser window.

Encryption Level
The numbers used as encryption keys are similar to combination locks. The strength of encryption is based on the number of possible combinations a lock can have. The more possible combinations, the less likely someone could guess the combination to decrypt the message.

For your protection, our servers require the browser to connect at 128-bit encryption (versus the less-secure 40-bit encryption). You will be unable to access online banking functions at lesser encryption levels. You may be required to upgrade your browser to the stronger encryption level.

To determine if your browser supports 128-bit encryption:

Internet Explorer and Netscape
  • Click "Help" in the toolbar of your Internet browser
  • Click on "About [browser name]"
  • A pop-up box or window will appear.
    • For Internet Explorer: next to "Cipher strength" you should see "128-bit"
    • For Netscape: you should see "This version supports high-grade (128-bit) security with RSA Public Key Cryptography"

If your browser does not support 128-bit encryption, you must upgrade to continue to access the website's secure pages.

Firefox and Safari browsers

Firefox 1.0 and Safari 1.2, use strong 128-bit encryption when accessing secure sites, to ensure safe and secure transmittal of private data such as account and payment information.

  1. Firefox - In Firefox, this option is not visible until connected to a site. To view the encryption level being used while connected to a specific secure site, you can do the following:
    • Click to the 'Tools' menu
    • Select 'Page Info'
    • Click the 'Security' tab
      Or: double-click the yellow 'lock' icon in the lower right corner of the screen while connected to a secure site.
  2. Safari - The Safari browser displays a 'lock' icon at the top right corner of the browser window when you're viewing a secure (https://) site. This symbol is absent when viewing an unsecured (http://) site. Safari can use both 40-bit and 128-bit "strong" encryption; the website determines which level of encryption is used at a given time.