Banking online has never been easier. You can do all your routine banking from home, your office or wherever you have secure access to the Internet, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

With online banking you have real-time access to all your accounts, including checking, savings and deposit accounts as well as loans, equity lines and mortgages. You can not only view your personal account details and balances, but you can also add new accounts, transfer funds between accounts, review up to three months of accounting and credit card transaction details, pay virtually all your utility, telecom, insurance, retail, grocery and credit card bills online.

Standing in long lines at the bank is a thing of the past if you wanted to order bank drafts, or initiate money transfers.

It's fast, convenient and secure - should you follow some simple guidelines.

Do not relax your guard when online.

You should be more suspicious of an unsolicited email than of a stranger knocking at the front door, because it is harder for you to ask the email sender to prove that they are who they say they are. Remember, if you follow the advice on this site and that given to you by your bank, it will a lot harder for the criminals to succeed. And remember, your bank will never send you an e-mail requesting you to verify your banking details - ever!

Update your computer regularly with the latest security updates.

From time to time, vulnerabilities are discovered in programmes used by most of us on our PC's. The publisher, like Microsoft, will then release a "patch" to correct this weakness. Be warned - hackers gain unauthorised access to those PC's that have not been updated. To check for patches you should visit the publisher's website regularly, typically in their Technology: Download section.

Msn.com is a good place to start if you use Microsoft. You can even set your computer to automatically do an update once a week so that you don't have to think about it too much.

Install antisoftware

Very few people don't have some type of anti-virus software, but to make this product more effective, it should be updated on a regular basis with the latest virus "definition files". If you are unsure how to do this, you should refer to the programme's Help function. There are many effective programmes to choose from, but the most common commercial products include McAfee and Symantec, better known as Norton. It is also possible to obtain free anti-virus protection from the Internet by doing a search for "free anti-virus" on Google or Yahoo.

Protect your password

Your password is the key to your online banking so you need to avoid using the same password for different accounts or systems that are important to you. By doing this, you put your money at risk should anyone discover this single password.

The password you use on your computer at work, for example, would not be the password to use on your online banking. Choose a unique password for any services as critical as your internet banking.

When choosing a password, remember not to be too personal. It can't be your name, your birthday or any other obvious personal detail. Believe it or not, many people actually have "password" as their password.

Also, never write your password down. If you feel you might forget it, you should never write it down in a way that can be understood by anyone else. Never write your password on a piece of paper you keep in your wallet.

If your wallet were stolen, the thief would have everything he needs to access your account online. You should also never disclose your internet login details anywhere online except at your usual online banking website which should be accessed in the normal way and never via a link in an e-mail.

Check your bank's website

If in doubt, a good place to get help and guidance on how to stay safe online is your bank's website. Check regularly for specific information and guidance on protecting your PC and yourself online.

Check your statement

If you notice anything irregular on your account contact your bank immediately.