Is copy and pasting data safer than typing when not using VPN

Question

Forgive my ignorance, I am not well versed in cybersecurity. I tried looking it up but I couldn't find the answer I was looking for, perhaps from a lack of the right search terms.

My question is, is copying/pasting sensitive information (e.g. usernames/passwords) any safer than typing it, or is that irrelevant?

I understand that VPN provides security by both hiding IPs and encrypting traffic. That implies that if I were not on VPN, then I'm most vulnerable only when logging into things, when I'm sending password data out.

However sometimes I see options for using a virtual keyboard to input sensitive data, which makes me think it's not just the transmission of data but the actual input of data itself that is vulnerable. If that's the case, would copying/pasting sensitive information be any safer than typing it (e.g. from a password manager to a website)? Or is using a virtual keyboard (and perhaps copying/pasting data) only secure if your system is already compromised, like through a keylogger? This is assuming I'm still not securing my connection via VPN or other means.

Answer 1

You are probably referring to keyboard-logging viruses, whose main target are bank account numbers and their details. To have this virus on your computer, the computer itself must be infected with the virus, and it doesn't matter then at all how the computer is connected to the internet, via VPN or not.

If you are worried about such viruses, then yes, copy-paste is safer than typing. Clicking on randomly laid-out icons to spell your password is also safer than typing it.

Almost all websites today use the HTTPS protocol, which is a secure mode of communication over the internet. This means that the information no longer passes over the internet in plain-text, and the text you send over, such as bank number, is as secure as with a VPN.

In addition, keyboard-logging is not the most common of viruses, and viruses usually don't restrict themselves to only one form of attack such as key-logging. Normal precautions, good security software (Windows Defender is really enough), and good habits while surfing, will be a much better protection against being infected in the first place.