Barclays Bank will become one of the first financial institutions to offer free internet security software to its customers, after announcing an agreement with F-Secure to provide the Finnish web security vendor's Anti-Virus product.

The software features antivirus, anti-spam, anti-spyware and intrusion-prevention capabilities and comes with free 24/7 support, according to F-Secure.

Several financial institutions have been testing two-factor authentication devices with their online customers and many offer discounted security tools, but Barclays is the first to offer free protection that home users will be able to use when surfing the web as well as for banking online.

"The reality is the challenge banks face is that many users out there are too trusting and enter their details [into phishing sites] when they shouldn't," said Richard Hales, F-Secure's UK country manager. "Barclays decided that the only way to get people to [secure their PCs] was to give them no reason not to have it on their PC."

Hales predicted that organisations such as ISPs and banks will increasingly offer free security tools as part of their services.

Barclays also announced it will launch a new SMS text message service to further protect online banking customers from the threat of fraud. It will send a text message to the account holder when new payees are set up on their account. Customers can then contact Barclays if the transaction appears suspicious.