Internet banking (HSBC/Natwest?)

[RGDave]

Just a heads up to anyone who uses t'internet banking.
HSBC (and others I expect) are offering a software download called "Rapport" provided by a company called Trusteer.

I am unable (and unwilling) to comment on the efficacy of this software but one thing I do know is this;

I tend to monitor background processes on my laptop and found my computer busier than usual, so I looked further.
What could have been so busy? itunes helper? bbc iplayer? windows explorer? AVG?......no.......

Trusteer Rapport. No. 1 background process eating up my RAM

I suspect this program with be gone pretty soon.

NOT impressed.

 

[haplesshacker]

Ta for the heads up. What does this bit of software do?

 

[PhilTheFragger]

As an ex bank manager and current PC engineer I feel qualified to speak on this subject.

This software is known to be a huge memory hog, it should not be installed on any machine more then 3 years old,or if your PC has less then 2Gb of RAM. Even then you will notice a big slowdown.

It is basically a firewall within your internet program, checking every webpage you visit against a database of nasties, whilst shielding your banking activities against any malware that may be on your system.

Kind of a super Phishing Filter.

Internet explorer 8 and firefox both have phishing filters built in and some security products like Norton or Kaspersky have their own versions which you are prompted to use instead of the standard ones in your browser.

All online banking websites start with HTTPS: which signifies a secure site, this is pretty safe to use, but if you have bugs on your system that can read where you go and record log on data, then you may have a problem.

I personally would not bother with it, update and run your antivirus regularly and also run a program like Malwarebytes ( http://www.malwarebytes.org )to keep everything tip top.

My fear is that if you are offered the software and you decline, will the banks see this as a way to absolve themselves of any blame in the event on online fraud at a later date.

Barclays offer Kaspersky instead of Rapport and I think that this is a better option.

Fragger ACIB (Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers) (Retired)

 

[RGDave]

Phil,

Thanks for this, exactly the type of response I was looking for.

My plan is to un-install it, I'm afraid. I realise that my bank might use it an excuse if things should ever go bad, but I think that's highly unlikely.

It seems a horrible piece of software. Surely it could have been designed to not run constantly and you just get a prompt to run it when on the banking site.

- - - - -

I hate all these background processes.....most of them are utterly pointless and should be able to run themselves at point of use - surely? The ones I really need (like synaptics pointing device, bluetooth controller, WiFiMsg etc are all sitting there hardly sucking up resources.

 

[SharkAttack]

I have this running on my PC. I haven't noticed any real drop in speed. It also checks as you type in passwords and stops keyloggers, which is never a bad thing. It will tell you when a password is being typed into a website that is used in another website.