Problems with banking protection

Loeke

When I open the website of my bank (SNS in The Netherlands) Banking Protection gets active (green border) and the web page is greyed-out and cannot be accessed at all.

So it blocks effectively all my banking activities!

F-Secure version 19.8

Windows 10

Firefox 132.0.2 (64-bit)

Loeke

JOnes

Same "feature" using latest win11, Chrome(131.0.6778.86),64-bit),url: https://www.snsbank.nl/particulier/home.html gets"banking protected" and greyed But using Brave(latest) same url works ok.Only difference is that brave browser application has been bypassed from VPN(used mainly in watching finnish broadcast company,Yle Areena),makes me wonder??🙈

F-Secure Total 19.8

Ukko

Hello,

If the website is snsbank[.]nl then I tried to play around and for my F-Secure beta installation two problems:

• I use Parental Control functionality (to block unrated/unknown-content/uncategorized category as part of content filtering). Despite the website being known and categorized by F-Secure as a trusted banking resource and the indexed pages in Google Search having a safe rating - I couldn't initially access the website and there wasn't even any blocking page (which is strange; // later remark: I think the difference with states are based on different ratings for www. view and without www. in visited domain for me). Just a generic HTTPS/SSL problem (as if BP extension is not used). Then I was able to see that maybe the page is being blocked as "not yet analyzed" and locally whitelisted it. This way I was able to go to the site and reproduce the problem described.
• But in my situation (at least) it is related to Cookie Popup Blocker functionality (https://help.f-secure.com/product.html#home/total-windows/latest/en/blocking_non_essential_cookies-latest-en).

You could try disabling it temporarily and see if you can still use the website normally. Even with Banking Protection active.

And also, better to say, the problem will be even without active Banking Protection. So most likely this is a problem (or bug) with Cookie Popup Blocker.

// when you go to a website, everything turns grey because a request to allow or deny cookies appears in the foreground. If you select something manually, the grey placeholder disappears. If you do this with the cookie popup blocker option enabled and F-Secure Browsing Protection extension enabled, the request is automatically processed, but the grey background remains for some reason. // another later remark: originally I wrote that I tried with Mozilla Firefox, but I can't to try with Firefox; I tried with Edge instead and it seems to be the same with Microsoft Edge.

maybe this point will be picked up from here by F-Secure support (or maybe since I reproduced it with beta solution, then maybe I will report about it on beta channel). But it would be nice if you could confirm or deny that your experience is about the same routine? Since I am not sure if JOnes test with Brave was with or without installed / active F-Secure BP addon/extension.

Thanks!

Loeke

Hi Ukko,

Thanks for looking into this issue. Yes, you do have the correct site.

I played around with the cookie popup blocker but no change in the behaviour. The first page of the sites comes up, grey-out after a second and after that the green border of F-secure banking protection appears …

regards,

loeke

Ukko

a later edit: yes, maybe my whole experience is not related to your situation. because, for example, I found that a step like refreshing page (for example, by hitting F5 button on keyboard) will re-apply autohandling by cookie popup blocker without any impact. And website is accessible. also, I think maybe your 'grey-out' is different to which I experienced. I see website's layout (pictures, text, buttons and so on) with a kind of greyed state. And nothing is clickable unless I do refresh page (or got a proper state from the very start; after manually adjusting cookie's settings per website's request with that gray background).

I played around with the cookie popup blocker but no change in the behaviour. 

so, even if this feature is disabled in F-Secure settings, still the same 'grey-out'? but could you try then with Incognito mode in Firefox?

meaning: to visit bank's website without active F-Secure Banking Protection extension and as a result also without 'additional' features like Cookie Popup Blocker or Adblocker. Just to make sure that this is F-Secure-related trouble (at least, related or not related to its browser addon).

// later edit:

first page of the sites comes up, grey-out after a second and after that the green border of F-secure banking protection appears …

Your description is very similar to what I observe.

In my situation (tried only with Microsoft Edge) I can only reproduce when using the Cookie Popup Blocker functionality (Rejecting non-essential cookies | Total | Latest | F-Secure User Guides)

However, I also see a very fleeting request to accept or reject cookies (which is automatically processed) and then everything is kept grey-out.

in my situation, disabling the cookie popup blocker in the F-Secure settings was enough for normal use. or disabling the BP extension (an alternative to checking usage in Incognito browser mode).

maybe in your situation there is some other extension or setting with similar functionality that does the same thing (for the site) even without using F-Secure Cookie Pop Blocker?

To understand whether the described problem is related to F-Secure or not (if it is not the cookie popup blocker feature that creates it). Since, perhaps, it may not be related to Banking protection, but to something else..

Thanks!

JOnes

"// But it would be nice if you could confirm or deny that your experience is about the same routine? Since I am not sure if JOnes test with Brave was with or without installed / active F-Secure BP addon/extension."

"// Only difference is that brave browser application has been bypassed from VPN"

BP(Total 19.8) was installed on and set active,only VPN was bypassed with Brave browser,it looks like bypassing the browser from vpn,it disables other security and privacy features as well.F-Secure support/moderators surely clarifies if nessessary

"Bypassing the VPN from a specific application like a browser in F-Secure Total 19.8 typically applies only to that particular app. This feature, often called split tunneling, ensures that the bypassed app connects to the internet without being routed through the VPN. Here's how it might affect your security and privacy:

1. Implications for the Bypassed Browser

• Privacy Loss: The browser's traffic will no longer be encrypted and masked by the VPN, exposing it to your ISP, network administrators, and potential eavesdroppers.
• Location Exposure: Websites you visit will detect your real IP address, which can reveal your approximate location.
• Unprotected Data: If you're using public Wi-Fi, the data sent through the browser is vulnerable to interception.

2. Impact on Other F-Secure Security Features

• No Effect on Antivirus or Malware Protection: The antivirus and malware protection in F-Secure Total will remain active and continue scanning for threats.
• Banking Protection: Banking protection may still work, depending on how F-Secure handles browser sessions outside the VPN. It's worth testing to confirm.
• Tracking Protection: Tracking protection (if included in your plan) might still block trackers but won’t prevent your real IP from being exposed.

3. Considerations for Security

• If the browser is bypassing the VPN for a valid reason (e.g., accessing services that block VPNs), ensure the connection is otherwise secure (e.g., HTTPS).
• Only bypass trusted apps or browsers to minimize risks.

"

• BP works with Brave browser bypassed from VPN (nordea.fi,op.fi)

Loeke

Yesterday It was already a bit late, and I only played with the cookie options in Firefox, which did not help.

This morning I went deeper in the settings of F-Secure and found the Cookie Popup Blocker in settings / Scam Protections. Turning that off made the cookie popup stay on the screen, accepting it helped to solve the problem. So it seems that the SNSbank site does not accept the automatic handling of the Cookie Popups by F-secure.. I guess I can live with this feature off.

I do delete my cookies each time I restart Firefox.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

Regards,

Loeke

Ville

Thank you for the investigative work @Ukko

I made an internal bug ticket to check what is the problem here.

JOnes

As a Consumer Customer i send a sample(url) as well from Total 19.8(support),VPN-off,banking protection related issue…

JOnes

3.12.2024

Team from Lab after sending an blocked and grayed url answered:

https://www.snsbank.nl/particulier/home.html

"We had whitelisted the blocked URL, this issue should be fixed. You can clear the cache manually to immediately fix the issue by opening F-secure Application > Settings > Support > Reset Reputation Cache If there is anything else we can help you with, please do not hesitate to contact us again."

win 11, latest chrome,F-Secure Total 19.8,banking protection ON

Loeke

Great! It now works correct with the Cookie Popup Blocker enabled.

Thanks for the support,

I guess this issue can be closed.

Loeke