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Protecting yourself online

We do all we can to keep you safe online but there's also plenty you can do to help protect yourself.

What is anti-virus software?

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

What anti-virus products are available?

There are many anti-virus products to choose from so it's best to do your research. Most anti-virus suppliers also offer a firewall product at little or no extra cost, and these can be set up at the same time.

You'll need to ensure your chosen product is set up to check for updates every time your computer is switched on, and runs a weekly scan. Typically updates 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.

What is spyware / adware and how to prevent it

Spyware is a program that secretly gathers information about what you do on your computer and quite often it does this without your knowledge.

In its least dangerous forms it is known as adware. Adware collects information about your internet habits on behalf of companies and can occasionally pop up adverts as you surf.

How does it work?

In its more dangerous form, it can act like a Trojan virus which is installed on your computer without you realising. You do not have to be connected to the internet to be spied upon, but once on the internet, any information gathered can be sent to the fraudsters spying on you.

How can I prevent it?

Spyware removers, search out these programs in the same way as anti-virus and can also block those annoying pop-up adverts.

There are many free anti-spyware programs which can be downloaded and used to scan your computer for spyware and adware, like Ad-aware.

Signs of infection

If you keep getting pop up windows all over your screen, you may have been infected with spyware or adware. You should run a scan like Ad-Aware or Windows Defender to detect and to remove it. Also, if you run Windows XP Service Pack 2 or newer, you can enable the pop-up blocker in Internet Explorer.

How to enable the pop-up blocker in Internet Explorer

Tools
Internet Options
Privacy tab
Check the pop-up blocker box

Anti-virus & Anti-spyware

The following links may help guard you against viruses, spyware and other malicious software.

Bank safely online

External industry standard links:

Is your browser up to date?

Most of us don't know if the browser we use to access the web is up to date. It just works, right? The short answer's yes: even browsers that haven't been updated will take us to sites we know and love.

Trouble is, older browsers can't give us the best experience. And in some cases, they can make our devices vulnerable to malicious attacks while we shop, browse and bank online. So upgrading your favourite browser is really important.

Two good reasons to upgrade your browser

To keep you safe online — There's no better reason than this to update your browser. You want to know you're protected by the latest security features.
To enjoy the best each site offers — Modern sites are getting smarter and better designed all the time. But you'll only be able to make the most of them with an up-to-date browser.

How to make sure your browser is up to date

Many modern browsers update without you needing to do anything. So if you've recently bought a new device and installed your favourite browser, you'll probably never need to do anything else.

To be on the safe side — or if you know you're using an older browser (any version of Internet Explorer before IE 11, for example) — here's where to go to download the very latest versions:

Are there any browsers we don't support?

Yes, there are. We don’t support any beta versions of browsers, or any browsers that run on Linux. You’ll also find you can’t complete FlexOne identification processes online using Internet Explorer 11 (and older) or Safari version 10 (and older).

All browser support is based on you leaving certain default settings untouched. So it’s best not to disable JavaScript or cookies, or add any kind of browser extension that may cause pages and web content to either load incorrectly or not at all.

Bank safely online

External industry standard links:

Email security

Occasionally, bogus emails are used by fraudsters in an attempt to extract your personal banking details. It is important to remember, Nationwide will never ask you to update any information by email. Neither we nor the police will ever contact you and ask for your personal banking details, PIN or passwords. If you do receive an email that seems to have been sent from Nationwide asking for your personal banking details, pin, passwords, or you are suspicious in any way, please delete it immediately. Do not call any telephone number or respond to the email, genuine emails can always be re-sent.

Any emails we send out are about our products and service, examples are listed below:

Service notifications

We want to share important information about your account with you as quickly as possible (for example, if you're nearing your credit limit or have ordered a new card or PIN). To make sure you know an email is definitely from us, we'll always show your postcode at the top or bottom of the page, and any message will come from either:

nationwide@service-nationwide.co.uk
nationwide@alerts-nationwide.co.uk

Emails about our products

These emails will always display your postcode at the top and will come from:

nationwide@nationwide-communications.co.uk
nationwide@nationwide-service.co.uk
noreply@nationwide.co.uk

If you have registered for the SavingsWatch service, you will receive SavingsWatch notifications by email from:

nationwide@nationwide-savingswatch.co.uk.

You will receive a SavingsWatch welcome email including your name, and all further emails will contain your name along with either your postcode or the last four digits of your account number. We will not email you from any of these email addresses if you have opted out or unsubscribed from receiving such notifications.

Mortgage products

If you’ve applied for a mortgage with us, you’ll receive confirmation and follow–up emails. Some of these emails will display your postcode others may not. They will come from the following email addresses:

MortgageUpdates@Nationwide.co.uk
mortgagehub@nationwidemortgages.co.uk

Insurance products

If you've got an online quote for or bought insurance from Nationwide, you'll receive confirmation and follow-up emails. These emails will always display your postcode at the top and bottom of the email and come from:

nationwide@nationwide-email.co.uk
service@nationwidehomeinsurance.co.uk

If you have Nationwide Home Insurance you may also receive emails from:

claims@nationwide-homeinsurance.co.uk
noreply@nationwide-homeinsurance.co.uk

If you have Nationwide Car Insurance we may contact you or respond to any enquiries via email. These emails will always display your postcode and will come from:

Nationwidesurveys@leadershipfactor.com
nationwide.queries@lv.com
nationwide.validation@lv.com

AGM

If you have requested to receive access to future AGM documents by email, they will always display your postcode at the top and bottom of the email (if we have a valid UK postcode on our records) and will come from:

nationwide@nationwide-service.co.uk

Paperless communications

If you have chosen to no longer receive paper communications on your Nationwide current account or credit card account you will receive an email each month telling you that your statement is ready to view. These emails will come from nationwide@nationwide-communications.co.uk and will also, providing you have a valid UK postcode, always display your postcode at the top and bottom of the email.

Security tips when using the internet

HTML emails

These are in fact a web page. They can be manipulated to hide viruses which when opened may attack your PC. You should only open emails that are from a trusted source.

Email attachments

Plain text emails can contain attachments which, when you open, contain a virus. The most common computer viruses and other malicious software are spread through email attachments.

Password security

What is a firewall?

A personal firewall protects your personal computer and private network from malicious mischief. Malware, malicious software, is the primary threat to your home computer. There are two ways a firewall can prevent this happening:

it can allow all traffic to pass through except data that meets a predetermined set of criteria, or
it can prohibit all traffic unless it meets a predetermined set of criteria.

What firewall products are available?

There are many firewall and anti-virus products to choose from so it's best to do your research. We have included some suppliers below, but none of these are specifically endorsed or recommended by Nationwide.

Most anti-virus suppliers also offer a firewall product at little or no extra cost, and these can be set up at the same time.

Firewall products

Firewall software should be set up to automatically update. As a minimum, if you don't have this firewall or one as part of your Anti Virus package, you should make sure that the Windows firewall is switched on (this is found in the Security Centre of the Control Panel).

Protecting yourself online

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