Two out of three internet users now access online banking, despite New Zealand banks admitting the sites are exposed to frequent attacks.
Figures made public by Nielsen Online Consumer Finance Monitor show online banking has experienced "phenomenal growth" with the proportion of users doubling in three years.
Nielsen spokesman Donald Sheppard said online banking had become mainstream with frequently used sites receiving more than half a million unique browsers a month.
"Once they use the internet, people of all ages adopt online banking with enthusiasm," Sheppard said.
"For younger people with internet access, online banking is the norm."
Sheppard said 80 per cent of those under 40 used online banking and it was becoming more common practice for older people, with 62 per cent of those over 55 logging on in the past month.
In New Zealand, 84 per cent of people over 15 have access to the internet and 71 per cent use the internet at least once a month.
On their last visit to an online banking site, 90 per cent of customers checked their account balances and about half transferred money or made payments online.
"On the whole, customers are very happy with the online banking sites they use - around eight in 10 rate their experience as very good or excellent, with ASB recording an outstanding result (87 per cent very good or excellent)," Sheppard said.
ASB had the highest proportion of customers - 85 per cent - who used online banking in the last month, followed by Kiwibank with 81 per cent and Westpac with 77 per cent, Sheppard said.
The figures from Nielsen Online were a result of interviews of more than 15,000 people during 2007.
Last month it was reported that a new virus - that had attacked 400 banks world-wide - was able to bypass New Zealand banks' two-factor online authentication, generally a user name and a pass-word.
The threat resulted in big New Zealand banks reissuing safety advice to their customers, which included running up-to-date anti-virus protection programs and regularly changing their passwords.
National Bank, ANZ, ASB, Kiwibank and BNZ all offer reimbursement for online banking fraud on a case-by-case basis. Westpac guarantees cover for all online banking fraud losses.
The banks were criticised last week after the release of the report for taking out information about consumers' security concerns. ASB has since released research showing 46 per cent of bank customers are "highly concerned" about online banking security.
How to avoid getting stung:
Review your bank's terms and conditions and consider if the security is adequate.
If you are getting rid of a computer, remember that data can remain stored on the hard-drive after it has been deleted.
Always log out when ending a secure transaction -- especially at shared internet terminals such as internet cafes.
Never give out your user name or password.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
China asks websites to self-censor porn, violence
China has called on domestic websites to sign a voluntary pact governing online video and audio content, saying they should exercise self-censorship to ensure a "healthy and orderly" cyberspace.
The move is part of government efforts to exert greater control over China's rapidly growing Internet sector, and to prevent content deemed harmful or subversive from getting into the public domain.
Eight "central" websites on Friday signed the pact requiring them to eradicate pornography and violence, which had "seriously polluted the online environment and affected the growth of young people", the national broadcast watchdog said.
"The signatories should actively disseminate healthy, beneficial audio-visual programs meeting socialist moral norms," reads the text of the pact drafted by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
"Decadent, backward thoughts and culture must be boycotted by all," according to a copy of the pact posted on the administration's Web site (www.sarft.gov.cn). Content related to gambling and "horror" were also targeted.
Signatories so far included the sites of official news agency Xinhua, Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily and other state media organisations.
China has seen robust growth of its Internet population – 210 million by the end of 2007 – in the past decade, fostering a dynamic, diverse and sometimes vulgar cyberspace which often defies the more puritanical official culture.
The Ministry of Information Industry unveiled new rules on online video and audio content banning violent, pornographic and fake material late last year.
The rules stipulate that websites offering broadcast or streaming services should be run by state-invested bodies. Sites that have a clean record would be able to reapply for independent operating licenses.
The pact asked websites to use an online database (net.tv.cn) set up by the watchdog where there was a pool of recommended "excellent" audio-visual programs and a list of illegal content that must be avoided.
Websites were also obliged to delete improper content uploaded by ordinary Internet users and to protect intellectual property, according to the pact.
The move is part of government efforts to exert greater control over China's rapidly growing Internet sector, and to prevent content deemed harmful or subversive from getting into the public domain.
Eight "central" websites on Friday signed the pact requiring them to eradicate pornography and violence, which had "seriously polluted the online environment and affected the growth of young people", the national broadcast watchdog said.
"The signatories should actively disseminate healthy, beneficial audio-visual programs meeting socialist moral norms," reads the text of the pact drafted by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
"Decadent, backward thoughts and culture must be boycotted by all," according to a copy of the pact posted on the administration's Web site (www.sarft.gov.cn). Content related to gambling and "horror" were also targeted.
Signatories so far included the sites of official news agency Xinhua, Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily and other state media organisations.
China has seen robust growth of its Internet population – 210 million by the end of 2007 – in the past decade, fostering a dynamic, diverse and sometimes vulgar cyberspace which often defies the more puritanical official culture.
The Ministry of Information Industry unveiled new rules on online video and audio content banning violent, pornographic and fake material late last year.
The rules stipulate that websites offering broadcast or streaming services should be run by state-invested bodies. Sites that have a clean record would be able to reapply for independent operating licenses.
The pact asked websites to use an online database (net.tv.cn) set up by the watchdog where there was a pool of recommended "excellent" audio-visual programs and a list of illegal content that must be avoided.
Websites were also obliged to delete improper content uploaded by ordinary Internet users and to protect intellectual property, according to the pact.
Pakistan orders Youtube blocked over cartoons
Pakistan has ordered local internet service providers to block access to the popular Youtube Web site because of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that have outraged many Muslims.
The cartoons, published in Danish newspapers in 2005 and again earlier this month, angered Muslims because of their depiction of the Prophet Mohammad.
"They asked us to ban it immediately. . . and the order says the ban will continue until further notice," said Wahaj-us-Siraj, convener of the Association of Pakistan Internet Service Providers.
Publication of the cartoons led to protests and rioting in many Muslim countries, including Pakistan, in which at least 50 people were killed and three Danish embassies attacked.
Several Danish newspapers reprinted one of the cartoons earlier this month after police in Copenhagen uncovered a plot by two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin to kill the cartoonist, sparking further protests around the world.
Attempts to access Youtube in Islamabad on Sunday were met with a generic error message saying the site was unavailable.
"Users are quite upset. They're screaming at ISPs which can't do anything," Siraj said.
"The government has valid reason for that, but they have to find a better way of doing it. If we continue blocking popular Web sites, people will stop using the internet."
The cartoons, published in Danish newspapers in 2005 and again earlier this month, angered Muslims because of their depiction of the Prophet Mohammad.
"They asked us to ban it immediately. . . and the order says the ban will continue until further notice," said Wahaj-us-Siraj, convener of the Association of Pakistan Internet Service Providers.
Publication of the cartoons led to protests and rioting in many Muslim countries, including Pakistan, in which at least 50 people were killed and three Danish embassies attacked.
Several Danish newspapers reprinted one of the cartoons earlier this month after police in Copenhagen uncovered a plot by two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin to kill the cartoonist, sparking further protests around the world.
Attempts to access Youtube in Islamabad on Sunday were met with a generic error message saying the site was unavailable.
"Users are quite upset. They're screaming at ISPs which can't do anything," Siraj said.
"The government has valid reason for that, but they have to find a better way of doing it. If we continue blocking popular Web sites, people will stop using the internet."
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