Barclays said that as online fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated methods to steal people bank details, it was necessary to team up with security company F-Secure in order to protect its customers against online threats.

The rebadged version of the F-Secure software prevents viruses and worms being downloaded to computers, scans emails, protects users against spyware and comes with free 24/7 technical support.

In addition to the free software, Barclays is also launching an SMS text message service which will notify customers when new payees are set up on their account.

The free service sends a text message when an online payment is made for the first time. Customers can then alert the bank if the transaction is suspicious.

The new service and software will be available to all of Barclays' two million online customers.

Customers will soon receive an email with details of how to download the F-secure software and a form to fill in for the SMS service.

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