Anti-virus advice

Anti-virus software is a computer program that searches your hard disk for viruses and removes any that are found.

Anti-virus software can only 'protect' against what it already knows about. New viruses spread very quickly so you must update your anti-virus software regularly, on a weekly basis at the very minimum.

Anti-virus products

There are many anti-virus products which are available online or in high-street shops. Suppliers include those listed below, but none of these vendors are specifically endorsed or recommended by Nationwide:

Kaspersky: Software that provides protection against viruses, worms and other malicious programs, as well as hacker attacks, spam and spyware. www.kaspersky.com

F-Secure: F-secure offers software that enables you to protect yourself against viruses and malware and ensure that your online identity is safe. http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA-Corp/products/

You'll need to make sure your chosen product is set up to check for updates every time your computer is switched on, and set to run a full scan of the computer once a week. A typical update to the product will take a couple of minutes and will happen in the background. Ideally it should also be set up to perform a full scan of the computer once a week.

Most products are also available as multi-license purchases if you have several computers in your household.

To learn more, visit the UK banking industry's site Bank Safe Online.