Online Banking FAQ

How do I log in?

Does Home Financial Services provide the level of security needed to prevent my account information to be intercepted online?

What can I do to protect my accounts?

Why does the URL for the Home Financial Services site start with HTTPS://?

What is the cost to use Home Financial Services?

How often is my account information updated?

My account has been "blocked". What does this mean and how can I remove the block?

The buttons on the left side of the Home Financial Services screen do not appear. What can I do?

If I am currently TeleTran- Your 24 Hour Teller touch tone phone system, may I use the same access code for Home Financial Services?

How many characters must my password be?

What is a browser?

What browsers can I use to access Home Financial Services from my computer?

How do I know which browser I am using?

What are Cookies? How do I determine if they are turned on?

When I type in my account number, my password is automatically inserted. Why does this happen and how can I prevent it from happening in the future?

What do I do if I forgot my password?

Online Banking, EFT, and Bill Pay Disclosures

How do I log in?
To log in, simply click on the Go button next to the Online Banking Login, found on every page of our website, this will bring you to the HFS Login screen. Next, enter your 6 digit account number in the Account Number box. In the Password box enter the password or PIN you chose when signing up. Now click the Login button and you are ready to go!

Does Home Financial Services provide the level of security needed to prevent my account information to be intercepted online?
Yes. Como Northtown Community Credit Union uses technology which encrypts or disguises all information during your Home Financial Services online session. Home Financial Services utilizes a Secure Sockets Layer for the remote possibility that someone were to intercept your data. This makes the data meaningless and impossible to read or change. The following information explains how this technology works to make Home Financial Services secure.

Home Financial Services is indeed safe and is being used by a growing number of Internet users like yourself. Security has always been a concern when transmitting sensitive information across the Internet. Before financial institutions could make online services available, infrastructure was designed to keep data safe while it transmitted from a personal computer to an institution.

Home Financial Services provides secure communications using either 40-bit or 128-bit encryption security (the higher the encryption bit number the higher the security level). Home Financial Services requires at least a 40-bit encryption browser, however a 128-bit encryption browser is recommended. The browser that you are running determines which level of security will be used for your connection. If you are currently using a 40-bit encryption browser and want to use the more secure 128-bit encryption browser, you will need to download the browser from either Netscape or Microsoft.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption technology emerged as the industry standard for securing data while it travels across the Internet. SSL is used worldwide in online stores, credit unions, banks, and on all other Web sites where information from an individual needs to be kept confidential. SSL transforms your data into cipher text (encrypted text) before sending it from your personal computer to Como Northtown and vice-versa. Your data remains encrypted as it passes through various Internet networks. Your data can only be decrypted by you.

Confidentiality: Your information is guaranteed confidentiality through the encryption or scrambling process and cannot be decrypted by anyone but you. If an encrypted message is somehow intercepted, it will be unreadable by the third party.

Integrity: If someone were to intercept your Como Northtown account information, it would not decrypt properly. Como Northtown would then be alerted to the fact that the message had been tampered with by a third party.

Authentication: Home Financial Services has been certified with a secure certificate from Verisign to communicate with you, the member, with SSL technology. Digital certificates act as a digital ID that users or computers are authentic.

The Secure Sockets Layer validates the identity of our site to you through the use of a digital certificate. After you connect to our site in secure mode, our site sends your browser a signed digital certificate, which contains the name of our Web server, its public encryption key, the certificate's validity dates, the name of the certification authority that issued the digital certificate to our site, and an unforgeable digital signature. The digital certificate authenticates to you that you are indeed connecting to our site.

The Secure Sockets Layer ensures that the data transmitted between your computer and our site has not been tampered with through the use of Message Authentication Codes (MACs). A MAC is based on the actual data itself. This provides a quick way for the receiving end to verify that the data wasn't changed enroute.

What can I do to protect my accounts?
Although we are utilizing the latest technology to keep your data safe as it passes over the Internet, you still play an important role in keeping your account safe. You should memorize your password. Do not write it down. Doing so may reveal it to others. When you are done with Home Financial Services or if you need to leave the computer, sign off by clicking on the Logout button. Make sure you sign off every time. This decreases the exposure window. When selecting an access code, do not use words or codes that are easily traced back to you. Using your birth date, spouse's name, favorite team and so on are all dangerous practices. Also, do not use terms or words that can be seen near your computer. For instance, Intel or Pentium are not good choices. It is best to use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and/or symbols in your code. When put together in a string, they shouldn't make sense. If you have a hard time remembering codes, think of a short saying or sentence you have memorized and use the first letter of every word. Mix in upper and lower case letters and throw in a number or two. Also, the more characters you have in your password, the harder it is to guess.

There are programs that attempt to run through a series of passwords in hopes of gaining access to systems or accounts out on the Internet or on computer systems and networks in general. We limit the number of consecutive failed attempts to four which will stop these programs in their tracks - especially if you stay away from common words or word combinations.

Why does the URL for the Home Financial Services site start with HTTPS://?
We have two types of servers. Our homepage is on a non-secure server. Home Financial Services, as well as any page that requires sensitive information is on a secure server. To access a secure server, HTTPS:// must precede the URL.

What is the cost to use Home Financial Services?
Nothing. Other than your Internet Service Provider's charge, the only costs you may incur would be for using any services for which you would normally pay a fee.

How often is my account information updated?
Home Financial Services runs on real time, which means that your transactions are immediately posted to your CNCCU accounts.

My account has been "blocked". What does this mean and how can I remove the block?
For security purposes, after three consecutive invalid logins, Home Financial Services automatically blocks account access through the HFS system. To remove the block simply call us at (651) 488-2535 or toll-free at (800) 840-2612 and we can remove the block for you. Or, you may fill out the Sign Up form and type Reactivate in the comments section. This will reactivate your account within (1) business day. It is a good idea to wait for the entire day or processing period. If you do try to access your account within this time-frame, HFS senses an unauthorized login and may place a block on your account again.

The buttons on the top of the Home Financial Services screen do not appear. What can I do?
If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5, you may need to download and install Service Pack 2 for Internet Explorer 5.5, which can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/archive/default.mspx .
In addition, your browser must have Microsoft's Virtual Machine for Java installed. Be sure you have this installed and turned on by opening Internet Explorer and choosing the Tools menu on the top. Next, click Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab and scroll down about halfway to the JavaVM settings. Be sure JIT compiler is enabled. If the JavaVM settings are not showing, you may need to download this software. You can do this at http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/java/ .

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, you may need to download and install Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE), which can be found at http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se-eol.html . After clicking this link, download the JRE - Windows (U.S. English only) by clicking on the word Download. Follow the instructions to install the program. Restart your computer when you are finished installing the program. You should now be able to see the buttons on the top of the screen.

If I am currently using TeleTran- Your 24 Hour Teller touch tone phone system, may I use the same access code for Home Financial Services?
Yes, you may as long as your Tele Tran password or PIN fits within the Home Financial Services criteria. Your password must be between 10 and 15 characters and include at least one alpha and one numeric character. For security purposes you must complete an application to use Online Banking. Click here to apply!

How many characters must my password be?
A minimum of 10 characters and a maximum of 15. You must include one Alpha and one Numeric character. Passwords are case sensitive, which means that Community, community, and CoMmuNity are all different passwords.

What is a browser?
A browser is an application that enables your computer to visit World Wide Web sites and make sense of them. It can display the graphical as well as textual content on the internet. The most common browsers in use today are Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.

What browser can I use to access Home Financial Services from my computer?
The following are the recommended browsers for these operating systems.

Windows 95/98/ME/XP
Java Enabled Microsoft Internet Explorer* 4.x or higher
Java Enabled Netscape Navigator** 4.x or higher
Windows NT 4.0
Java Enabled Microsoft Internet Explorer* 4.x or higher
Java Enabled Netscape Navigator** 4.x or higher
Windows 2000/Professional
Java Enabled Microsoft Internet Explorer* 4.x or higher
Java Enabled Netscape Navigator** 4.x or higher
Macintosh OS 7.6 or higher
Java Enabled Microsoft Internet Explorer* 5.0 or higher*
Java Enabled Netscape Navigator** 4.x or higher
Linux (Tested with Red Hat 6.1)

NOTE: If you are using an earlier version of Linux, you may experience problems with the appearance of text. To fix this problem, you need to install a newer version of Linux or download a newer font set. For any Linux software updates you may need, please contact Red Hat (http://www.redhat.com/).

If you are using an earlier version of Linux, you may experience problems with the appearance of text. To fix this problem, you need to install a newer version of Linux or download a newer font set. For any Linux software updates you may need, please contact Red Hat (http://www.redhat.com/).

Basically, any browser that provides for the handling of the SSL protocol and cookies can be used. We recommend using the latest versions of any Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or America Online. These browsers provide the most advanced Internet browser security available. Also, now is a great time to download the latest version of your browser of choice. By having a new browser, you can take advantage of the latest technology on the Internet.

Click one of the logos to download the latest version of the browser

How do I know which browser I am using?
Open your browser (it doesn't matter if you are online or not). There are fields across the top of the window (File, Edit, View...), one of these fields is Help, click Help. Click About. This should tell you which version of the browser you are using.

What are "cookies"? How do I determine if they are turned on?
Cookies are a very useful tool in maintaining state variables on the Web. Since HTTP is a "stateless" (non-persistent) protocol, it is impossible to differentiate between visits to a web site, unless the server can somehow "mark" a visitor. This is done by storing a piece of information in the visitor's browser. This is accomplished with cookies. Cookies can store database information, custom page settings, or just about anything that would make a site individual and customizable. An analogy we like to use is that cookies are very much like a rain-check of sorts. When you return, you pick up where you left off. Some cookies have expiration dates. When a cookie expires, your browser will simply erase it from your hard drive. Depending on where it came from, a cookie may expire tomorrow, next week, or the year 2008. Cookies with an expiration date are generally known as "persistent cookies," meaning they stick around for a while. A cookie that doesn't contain an expiration date will only last as long as your browser stays open. These are called "session cookies." When you close your browser, all session cookies silently disappear. Our site uses session cookies. There are three different ways of determining if cookies are turned on, depending on which browser version you are using.

Click on "edit" drag down to "preferences"
Next, click on the "advanced" option on the left.
Make sure that "accept all cookies" is checked.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3, 4 & 5
Click on "view" drag down to "options".
Next, click on the "advanced" tab. Check "always accept cookies."
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
Click on "Tools" drag down to "Internet Options".
Next, click on the "Settings" tab. The "Automatically" button must be checked.

When I type in my account number, my password is automatically inserted. Why does this happen and how can I prevent it from happening in the future?
This is called "autocomplete". It can be turned off easily. Under the tools menu on Internet Explorer, click internet options. Click content. From the personal information area, click autocomplete then uncheck "user names and passwords on forms". Click OK, then OK again.

What do I do if I forgot my password?
Simply call us at (651) 488-2535 or toll-free (800) 840-2612 and we can reactivate your account. Or, you may complete the online Sign Up form and type Reactivate in the comments section. This will reactivate your account within (1) business day.