To access the StGeorge internet banking site under Linux you have to spoof the useragent string. As their site actively blocks you from using it under Linux. Bastards! This workaround is for Mozilla and Firefox, but a similar procedure for other Linux browsers should work as well.

To install plugins you need to be root so that you have access to write to your Mozilla directory. However before you sudo to run Mozilla as root I will warn you that due to a bug in Mozilla once you open Mozilla as root it will trash your bookmarks. So I suggest backing them up. They are usually in ~/.mozilla/default/?????/bookmarks.html if you want to do it by hand. I mention this of course as furthur into this you will need to install some plugins and by golly I don't want you banging your head on the same rock as I did.

So anyway, firstly you'll need Java installed. I suggest NOT using the built in detection of Java and installing it yourself, for the simple reason that on a modern Linux you need the version of the plugin compiled with GCC 3.x and the automatic install will give you the GCC 2.x plugin. Otherwise you will get an error along the lines of:

LoadPlugin: failed to initialize shared library
/usr/local/mozilla/plugins/java2/plugin/i386/ns600/libjavaplugin_oji.so
[/usr/local/mozilla/plugins/java2/plugin/i386/ns600/libjavaplugin_oji.so: undefined symbol: __vt_17nsGetServiceByCID]

Download Java and install it somewhere. Once your done that find the plugin using:

slocate libjavaplugin_oji.so

You want the one in the ns610-gcc32 subdirectory. Create a symbolic link to that file in Mozilla plugins directory:

cd /<path-to-mozilla>/plugins
ln -s /<path-to-plugin>/libjavaplugin_oji.so libjavaplugin_oji.so

[Re]Start Mozilla and goto the URL 'about:plugins' to check that it's installed.

With java installed you then have to override the user agent string that identifies the platform that your running on. There is actually nothing wrong with the Mozilla on Linux platform in terms of functionality but the scripts on the StGeorge site detect that your running Linux and send you down the garden path. So by spoofing the user agent string the StGeorge site gives you the same webpages and java programs as you'd get on Windows. Which works fine for me on Linux.

There are 2 ways to spoof the user agent string, by hand or by using another Mozilla plugin.

The first method uses the 'about:config' URL to edit the unseen preferences of Mozilla. The preference:

general.useragent.override

Allows you to override the user agent sent to the webserver with any string of your choosing. So either create a new string preference (right click and New->String) or edit any existing preference called that to have the value:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win98; en-US; rv:1.0.0) Gecko/20020530

Once your done with StGeorge you can delete the preference to return things to normal.

The second method involves installing a plugin that allows you to set the user agent string using a combo box in the toolbar. You can install the plugin from here

Once prefbar is installed you can simply select "Moz 1.0 98" in the combo box saying "Real UA" and then log into StGeorge. This has the advantage of being easy to set things back to normal by reselecting the "Real UA" option.,

I have talked to StGeorge about this and they say they are "working on it". Which is as we know standard bank bullshit. They are actively working to prevent Linux users access to their internet banking. Insert your fravorite conspiracy theory here ;)

And if by chance any StGeorge employees are reading this, you know what to do! Get to and fix your site!