HSBC online bank customers are being offered free software to help protect them from hackers.

The software, (called Rapport) from the Trusteer company, runs on both Apple Macintosh on PC computers, will prevent hackers hijacking, or getting data via the browser the customer is using.

The Rapport program is designed to work alongside anti-virus and firewall programmes, giving additonal protection, rather than replacing it.

The director of HSBC’s digital security, Nick Staib, stated that the programme is being downloaded and used by a high percentage of HSBC’s online banking users.

“Download rates have surpassed our most optimistic expectations. I am delighted that so many customers share our interest in keeping personal and banking details safe,” he said.

“Rapport is software that I use myself and I am happy recommending to friends.”

HSBC already has software from Verisign to demonstrate that their websites are really genuine and help to stop its customers becoming victims of phishing scams.

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SAP chief executive Leo Apotheker has resigned in a management change at the enterprise software company.
The SAP supervisory board said it had reached a “mutual agreement” with Apotheker not to extend his contract as a member of the SAP executive board.
“Léo Apotheker has resigned as CEO and member of the SAP executive board effective immediately,” the company said in a statement issued on 7 February.
SAP said it is returning to a joint-CEO structure, appointing as co-CEOs Bill McDermott, head of field organisation, and Jim Hagemann Snabe, head of product development.
Apotheker’s exit comes less than a year after he took over as the sole CEO of the Germany-based company in May 2009, when a joint structure was abandoned.
The company also announced that chief technology officer Vishal Sikka has been appointed to the SAP executive board Hasso Plattner, co-founder of SAP and chairman of the SAP supervisory board, will continue to play a strong role in advising the new leaders on technology and product development, the company said.
“The new set-up of the SAP executive board will allow SAP to better align product innovation with customer needs,” said Plattner.
No reason has been given for Apotheker’s departure, but he had been criticised for delays in the introduction of new business software for small and medium-sized companies.
Analysts have also described SAP’s financial performance for 2009 as “dismal” with total revenues down 8%, and employees signalled a lack of faith in SAP management in a September 2009 survey.

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Microsoft plans to release 13 security updates on 9 February, equaling the record which was set in October 2009 for the largest number to be issued on a single Patch Tuesday.
Affected software includes Windows (7, 2000 and XP), Windows Server (2001, 2008 and 2008 R2), Microsoft Office (XP, 2003, and 2004 for Mac).
Five of the updates, including two for Windows 7, are rated “critical”, seven “important” and one “moderate”.
This is in sharp contrast with January’s Patch Tuesday, when one security update was released followed by the out-of-band emergency update for Internet Explorer later in the month.
The 13 updates for February are aimed at fixing a total of 26 vulnerabilities, compared with 34 targeted by the same number of updates released in October 2009.
Although two of the critical updates affect Windows 7, the bulk are for older software, indicating that newer software from Microsoft is more secure as its Security Development Lifestyle matures.
Microsoft introduced the SDL programme officially in 2004 to standardise secure software development practices across all product lines.
February has seen Microsoft release two free tools based on the SDL programme to help software developers throughout the industry to write more secure code.
The tools, announced at the Black Hat DC security conference near Washington, are the latest public releases of elements of the SDL programme.

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