New Zealand Banks Demand a Peek at User PCs: "Montgomery Burns III writes with a link to a ComputerWorld article on a ... unique approach to bank security. New Zealand financial institutions are looking for a way to access customer PCs used in online banking transactions. Their goal is to verify the security of the user's terminal. 'Under the terms of a new banking Code of Practice, banks may request access in the event of a disputed transaction to see if security protection in is place and up to date. Liability for any loss resulting from unauthorized Internet banking transactions rests with the customer if they have 'used a computer or device that does not have appropriate protective software and operating system installed and up to date, [or] failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the protective systems, such as virus scanning, firewall, antispyware, operating system and antispam software on [the] computer, are uptodate.''

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