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 | Big take-up of free software from Standard Bank |  |  |
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29 July 2003
More than 3000 Internet banking customers a day are downloading Standard Bank's free McAfee anti-virus and firewall software. In addition, the bank has detected and eliminated over 85 000 viruses on customers' personal computers.
Standard Bank announced on Friday that it would supply its Internet banking customers with free McAfee anti-virus and firewall software to provide a safer online environment. The bank has also introduced a calculator-type PIN pad on its Internet banking site to counteract keypad-logging software allegedly used recently to defraud another bank's clients.
Says Herman Singh, Director: Direct Channels at Standard Bank: "The overwhelming response from our customers to the free software has been very encouraging. The fact that customers are taking Internet banking security so seriously reinforces our message that Internet security has to be a partnership between the bank and its customers."
He says there has also been a surge of new customers signing up for Standard Bank's Internet banking.
"Interestingly, we have discovered that our customers had over 85 000 viruses on their personal computers: this equates to about 20 viruses a customer. This is not surprising considering that there are over 60 000 known viruses in the world, 87% of which are transmitted by the Internet," says Singh
The McAfee anti-virus software has cleaned and deleted all the customers' viruses. "Another positive aspect is that that by 'killing' these viruses we are helping free up the Internet, making its operations a lot quicker.
"I would encourage all our Internet banking customers to download the software. It is easy to download and is self-configuring, making it compatible with all home PCs," says Singh.
The anti-virus software will be free to customers for a year, after which customers will be responsible for the maintenance fee on the software, which will be negotiated in bulk by Standard bank for the benefit of its customers.
Standard Bank's PIN pad device pops up when customers log onto the Internet banking site. Instead of using the keyboard to type in the customer-selected PIN, customers will use their mouse to click on the numbers of the PIN pad, making keystroke detection impossible through keystroke logging software.
"This additional security measure is to ensure criminals cannot get access to our customers' PIN details using so-called 'spyware' software. We urge customers to use the PIN pad and their mouse when entering their PIN," says Singh.
Customers who have any queries or who need help in installing the software can contact the Standard Bank helpline on 0860 123 456.
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