In May, F-Secure signed a strategic agreement with Barclays Bank to provide its 1.6 million online banking customers with a free two-year licence of F-Secure Anti-Virus. This significant investment demonstrates Barclays'commitment to keeping customers safe from hacking attempts, viruses and other malware while using the Internet -not just when they're banking online. Barclays selected F-Secure for the technical strength of its anti-virus offering, speed of response to emerging Internet security threats and high levels of service and customer support.
Barclays will be marketing the software to its online customers via its website and direct mail. In addition to the free F-Secure Anti-Virus offer, Barclays and F-Secure have created specific online instructions to its clients giving advice on one of the biggest problems for banks -phishing. Barclays states that as a bank, they will never ask for personal or security details by email. This approach has been adopted by other banks too, so any email that looks as if your bank is asking for such details, is without doubt a phishing attempt.
Even if you disregard your initial suspicion and continue onto an Internet site, should you be requested to "update" or "verify" your details - don't. Better still, do not respond to the email or visit any website linked from it, no matter how genuine they might appear. Barclays directs its users to forward any suspicious mail to its security desk -by doing so, it can help to take these sites offline quickly and protect other less vigilant users.
The bank also recommends that users keep their system and web browser updated as well as running automatically updated anti-virus with a personal firewall For those using Windows XP, the advice is to find out about the Windows XP's proprietary firewall settings. Barclays also uses a padlock system at the bottom of its browser to ensure the site certificate belongs to Barclays and prevent customers from being duped into entering their details on a 'fake' site.
As a matter of basic online banking security, the bank advises its customers to keep their personal details secret, which means committing to memory and not writing down or sharing the information. Customers are also advised to check their accounts regularly looking for transactions that are unfamiliar to them, to log out immediately after using their online banking service and never to leave their PC unattended when logged in to their account.
The Barclays service automatically instructs most browsers not to store the user's personal information in the cache (memory but also advises users to double check and always clear the cache themselves.
Peace of mind
Jeremy Law, Head of Business Development for Electronic Banking at Barclays Bank, commented, "FSecure's Anti-Virus product will provide our customers with excellent protection, giving them peace of mind when using the Internet and banking online, without annoying them with pop-ups and confusing instructions.
The software and service met all our requirements - it's straightforward to set up, provides thorough protection that's updated daily and is backed up with an excellent support.
The agreement with F-Secure allows Barclays to offer a free service to its online customers that would normally cost over £45 for the two years. Barclays Bank customers using F-Secure Anti-Virus will also have the option to upgrade to F-Secure's flagship Internet Security product for a reduced price, giving them additional features including parental control, a personal firewall, spam filters and application control. Risto Siilasmaa, President and CEO of F-Secure said: "This offer places Barclays in a different league to its competitors when it comes to keeping customers safe online. By protecting them online, Barclays is ensuring that, whether on bank business or not, its customers are given the best possible service.
Author: Mark Woods, Corporate Communicator
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