NatWest's 'Rapport' software - should I install it?

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Comments

  • Thank you DebitCard - I'll do that!

    Crystal
  • I'm with HSBC, they want me to install a similar package.
    I'm with Virgin Media, they want me to install a similar package
    I'm with Microsoft O/S, they want me to install a similar package

    I was with the Midland Bank 24 years ago when I was invited to be a member of their beta test team for internet banking, in those 25 years I've never had any problems whatsoever. Midland is of course now HSBC.

    I will not be taking up any parties offer to install their software onto my machine. My machine is just that, mine ! Mine to keep clean and un-compromised.

    Just as an aside on the subject of banking. I went to the bank to draw £5k over the counter cash on Tuesday, parked on the double yellows 6 minutes before close and clutching my cheque book [ I hadn't seen / used it for years ] went to the counter.

    Nice lady asked for ID and in my rush I'd not even took my wallet, bank cards,etc let alone any ID. With totally justified disbelief the lady quite properly told me to go home and get some ID and come back later.

    I appealed, and said you know more about me than my wife, it's my money and I want it now, can't you ask me some or all of the million security questions you almost certainly have on the screen in front of you ?

    To my amazement she did, paid out, and I was gone in minutes.

    The very next day I went to the local cake shop at 5 to 10am bought a big box of fresh creams and delivered them to the counter - I made no comment other than " thanks for your help yesterday "
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • pelakastim
    pelakastim Posts: 3
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Newbie
    edited 26 February 2010 at 11:29PM
    Just spent a whole week trying to repair my PC because of Rapport. For no reason the PC started crashing Chrome & IE8 when I got half way through my login details on AOL mail, amazon and a whole load of other websites. If I pasted the details in from a word document - no problem, but if I typed manually, once it got to the 7th character, it froze then crashed. Ran AVG and Spybot - nothing changed, reloaded IE8 and Chrome, no change. Even ran a restore - still not working. In desperation I decided to start deleting programs and started with Rapport....BINGO!!! logins all work perfect now and my browsers are running on all cylinders instead of being lethargic with Rapport. My advise - bin it. Take responsibility for your own security and don't rely on the nerds who create this rubbish. For every nerd there are two anti-nerds ready to beat them. Common sense is enough...

    PS...its also blocked the BBC new ticker working while playing up!!
  • "" For every nerd there are two anti-nerds ready to beat them. Common sense is enough... ""

    Succinctly put !
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • I like Rich 0's reply - it is a key logger to stop key logging.

    I've got over 25 years experience in banking IT and know a thing or 2 about security. I've seen perfectly safe and adequate security systems processes removed because some new piece of faddish technology comes along, and the bandwagon gets going for everyone to have it. That is why we have so many passwords and id's etc.

    As anyone with any skills in IT will tell you though - a good system is one with a single point of failure. If you have multiple points of failure then you cannot trace errors/faults and more importantly break-ins. You end up chasing shadows. It seems ludicrous to me that the banks continue to waste money on security 'technology' adding to the points of failure.

    The other thing I know is that the more opportunity you present the more likely you are to invite crime. All software can be hacked - it should be only a tool as part of a process of security but more often than not it is presented as 'the' security process.

    It would seem to me that this software fails on both counts, it is an opportunity as it is actually a key logger ('thank you very much' says the hacker,'all i have to do is break in') and it is yet another point in a myriad of points of failure that would have to be unravelled.

    If you have personal internet security on McAfee or any of the others then I don't see the need for this. You always need to take precautions re. spam as that is the way they break in but people shouldn't be punished for making mistakes.
  • ajc123 wrote: »
    I like Rich 0's reply - it is a key logger to stop key logging.

    I've got over 25 years experience in banking IT and know a thing or 2 about security. I've seen perfectly safe and adequate security systems processes removed because some new piece of faddish technology comes along, and the bandwagon gets going for everyone to have it. That is why we have so many passwords and id's etc.

    As anyone with any skills in IT will tell you though - a good system is one with a single point of failure. If you have multiple points of failure then you cannot trace errors/faults and more importantly break-ins. You end up chasing shadows. It seems ludicrous to me that the banks continue to waste money on security 'technology' adding to the points of failure.

    The other thing I know is that the more opportunity you present the more likely you are to invite crime. All software can be hacked - it should be only a tool as part of a process of security but more often than not it is presented as 'the' security process.

    It would seem to me that this software fails on both counts, it is an opportunity as it is actually a key logger ('thank you very much' says the hacker,'all i have to do is break in') and it is yet another point in a myriad of points of failure that would have to be unravelled.

    If you have personal internet security on McAfee or any of the others then I don't see the need for this. You always need to take precautions re. spam as that is the way they break in but people shouldn't be punished for making mistakes.

    I don't trust any of the words that the Okie Island Trading Company have to say about the validity of Rapport, and certainly not their testing methodology.
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • jimbms
    jimbms Posts: 1,100 Forumite
    Just email them and ask how you intall it on Linux.
    Approach her; adore her. Behold her; worship her. Caress her; indulge her. Kiss her; pleasure her. Kneel to her; lavish her. Assert to her; let her guide you. Obey her as you know how; Surrender is so wonderful! For Caroline my Goddess.
  • No you shouldn't install it, doing so indicates that you accept responsibility for someone stealing your identity, anyway if you have keyloging malware on your computer this software and any other will not stop it and it would only take a few visits to the website to get all the keys required, however they would have to work out in which order they were typed :)
  • Who resurrected this ? even Leopard is in here before he was banned !

    While we are on the subject : -

    There was a post some many many months ago in this section of the forum, reference Virgin / Kaspersky / Rapport ! - I said at that time "" never in a million years, not Virgin, or HSBC Rapport, not with a barge pole. Why trust anyone ? just because it's your bank doesn't make them experts, it arguably doesn't even make them any more expert than you are, yet they frighten you the customer into putting one more piece of software onto your puter. HSBC login system already requires a specific PIN and a variable password [ changes each time you log in ] and a 3 wrong strikes and your locked out fall back position.

    I don't trust any of the words that the Okie Island Trading Company have to say about the validity of Rapport, and certainly not their testing methodology. My understanding is it eats RAM, slows your net experience, has low detection capabilities, high false positives, and any program without a reverse gear [ uninstaller ] should not be allowed on any computer. Your computer is your responsibility, keep it, and a good AV, clean and updated and you won't need this extra burden. There's nothing new about keyloggers they've been around since the days of BB's, [ DOS version of the internet ] I'm not sure if (a) the banks have been scammed into paying money to Rapport, by Rapport or (b) the banks are scamming the customers with Rapport.

    - all banks, not just HSBC have a ' variable password ' , Barclays for example have a calculator [ pin sentry - see * below ] version of variable password, so even if Rapport was not on your system and a ' bot ' was sent your keystrokes [ see ** below ] they would not be able to [ see *** below] get into your bank. The banks have been negligent, their product assessment is to say the least, very very pedestrian.

    - so Raport does not work, but even if it did it's redundant and rendered useless for the reasons given above !
    - going back to my earlier observation ' not with a barge pole ' why the banks missed / disregarded the obvious I've no idea other than they will be able to try use it as one more ' cop out ' for not paying out.
    * looks like a calculator into which you put your card, it gives you a one time only, unique, pre-entry, 8 digit code that works for a very [ minutes ] limited time.
    ** in the case of HSBC the variable code is valid for that unique one very limited time only, any bot collecting the info would find it totally useless seconds later.
    *** I just logged onto my HSBC account seconds apart from both IE8 & Chrome and my bank let me in, but demanded a different ' variable password '

    Rapport is crap, you don't need it pointlessly wasting your cycles. It's become slightly less intrusive than the early days, but its still :

    - a very unessential layer of risk
    - an a~n~other point of failure
    - an endlessly endorsed bit of uselessness pushed on the public

    If it worked, the banks would have SHOUTED IT LOUD .. .. if it was compromised the banks would never tell you !
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I wouldnt touch it with a very long bargepole
    :idea:
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