Q&A about online security with National Fraud Authority and Dr Sue Black

Is banking online really safe?i hesitate...

I have several bank accounts. I'm reluctant to go online as I read so much about fraud. Just the last few days Barclays has messed up.I'm a customer and could easily have been one whose details had been sold. I've just had an email purporting to be Natwest. There should be a central well known email address that all these fake emails could be forwarded to (and sorted by them)instead o f having to report to separate banks.

Reluctantly I bought many more Christmas gifts online last year than I have ever done, some from sites and companies I had never heard of or had any knowledge of and a couple of times not in this country.
Yet I, not without some trepidation, sent them my bank card details. How safe is this generally and is there any way of checking up on a company's online security?
All the gifts arrived safely.

Whats the one most unsafe thing that people do on a regular basis? i know i often fail to log out odf online banking but is there anyhting else i might be doing unwittingly that is actually quite a bad idea?

i refuse to start internet banking as I can't remember so many passwords and have to write them down. can't think of anything more unstreetwise than that!

Hello. Are Macs 'safe' from viruses? When I use to have a Windows I'd install Norton Antivirus and whatnot, but I've been told it's not necessary for Macs?

How are we expected to have complex passwords which are different for EVERYTHING we use, and to remember them all?! I know you can buy software to save your passwords etc instead of writing them down, how reliable are they? Are they safe?

For years now, I've paid for virus detecting programmes like Mcaffee and norton anti virus, but recently my son said i should stop my subscription and download a free one from the internet. Are these safe? I'm all for saving money but not if it's going to cost me more in computer repairs further along. THank you.

I use twitter (not very well, I must admit) and the other day I noticed I had somehow sent a message with a link in to all of the people I "follow". I assumed it was a scam since I wouldn't even have any idea how to do that, if I wanted to. How can I stop it happening again? I was very embarrassed!

what's the worst thing that could happen to you through online scams/security breaches I'm not sure i really have auy concept of how bad it could get

I'm interestesd to know as i once had money stolen form my account (not sure that was online actually) and had it returned within a week or two, heard nothing more about it. i was angry at the b****r who had taken it though...

I have an IPad which I use all the time
Apple assure me it cannot be compromised. Lately I have had emails from people and I have recognised them as being "strange ". I do not down load these and alerted t he sender they may have been hacked. What the best
way of dealing with this problem.?

Where is the best place to keep your passwords. I must have hundreds. I do all my banking online, online shopping, email accounts, Gransnet obviously, mobile phone account, iTunes, social media etc etc etc. But the annoying thing is that many of them don't allow you to use the same format so you have a slightly different pword for many of them. So I forget. Often. And then it's a pain setting them up again.

I know there are apps where you can apparently store all your pwords for safekeeping but are these safe? Also, what should happen if I were to drop down dead tomorrow - who would know how/where to access all my account details? It's very worrying actually...

I have the same problem about remembering passwords. My friend uses a little index book to write them down in and I tried to buy one but they do not have them in Paperchase or WHSmith.

I don't have phone, tablet etc. Any suggestions for the memory challenged?

While I was sleeping soundly, my mini-ipad sent a message to some of my contacts (I use yahoo.co.uk), causing confusion and annoyance to them. As suggested by a knowing friend, I have changed my password, and am still using the same account. Should I do anything else to prevent this happening again?

( I don't really understand whether it was yahoo.co.uk who got hacked, or me.....)