I have been getting a lot of computers in for servicing due to clients reporting slowness. One of main contributors to this state is the plethora of unnecessary software being loaded onto new machines. One of these is IBM Trusteer Rapport which is designed to protect confidential data, such as banking account credentials, from being stolen by malicious software or via phishing. The software includes anti-phishing measures to protect against misdirection and has the reported capability to prevent malicious screen captures.

On installation, Rapport also tries to remove existing financial malware from end-user machines and to prevent future infection. Trusteer Rapport is advertised to be compatible with Microsoft Windows (XP-SP2 and higher) and Mac OS X and can be downloaded free of charge. Some banks offer this software free of charge with a view to making online banking safer for customers. 

I advise you to remove this software for the following reasons.

• Any software which asks you to turn off your anti-virus software on loading is suspicious in itself.
• The software collects keystrokes and online financial credentials, encrypts them, then stores them on a third party server for use in analyzing online financial activities.
• It slows your computer down especially on ones with more modest processors such as Pentiums, Intel i3 and some lesser specced AMDs.
• Trusteer’s revenue is provided solely by large corporations and special interest groups and not by the consumer, which in turn means that it's not the consumers best interests but corporate interests that drive the development of the products.

Don't just take my word for it - here is what Which? have to say.