Online Banking

An e-commerce example.

Traditionally, if you wanted to deal with a Bank, you would have to go to a branch office on the high street, but the banks quite quickly realised that a lot of what customers want to do can be done over the internet.

For example, checking your bank balance, moving money between accounts, paying a bill can all be done from your computer logged into the Bank's web server.

It is vital that all this interaction is kept secret from anyone eavesdropping on the internet connection. So very strong encryption called SSL is used.

Also, many banks have multiple steps to log into the account such as a password and then asking for random letters from a phrase you have set up. This stops tricks like keyloggers from recording your complete login details.

But con-artists are still trying their best to trick you into telling them your details by using 'phishing' scams, such as sending a fake email warning you to 'update your security settings'.

Nearly all the main Banks now have an online presence. This is great for customer convenience and also good for them as it reduces the need to have so many branches.