InBox

Q. Alan writes that when the Bank of New Zealand launched its online banking service, users entered their password via a virtual keyboard and keys were clicked using the mouse, avoiding the danger of keystroke loggers. BNZ has since dropped that in favour of the standard type-in-a-box method. Why don't banks favour the mouse-click method?

A. Ease of use - most bank customers prefer automated forms that take no effort, and moving a mouse is unwanted effort for some. Forms, however, can be vulnerable to Trojan and data-gleaning attacks. No matter how good bank security is, though, it's the responsibility of users to make sure they don't open any dubious files or websites and thus infect their own systems. Most bank-account violations are tracked back to a prior lapse in user concentration that allowed their machine to be compromised. To avoid problems, stick to these basic rules: never follow an e-mail link to access your bank account, and instead use your Favourites link; never open a dubious email attachment; avoid pirated, hacked or cracked programs and files; and don't even consider storing bank passwords within text files on your computer.

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Q. A few days ago Colin received a joke email from a friend. He opened the attachment and nothing happened. Now, in Task Manager, he can see that he has a new program running called Sdkimprovment.

A. Colin has let in the W32.spybot.ogx virus. Symantec has an advisory page. Unfortunately, the virus blocks access from most antivirus sites, so Colin should update his virus scanner. Most scanners are protected against this virus as of May 2.

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Q. There are arrows on the 2, 4, 6 and 8 keys on the numbers section of Joel's keyboard. He wants to know what they are for.

A. Those keys can be used instead of a mouse. Go to Control Panel/Accessibility Options/Mouse and place a tick beside Use Mouse Keys, then hit Apply. Pressing the arrow keys will move the cursor - hitting four will move it left, for example.