Small and medium-sized businesses would be wise to have up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software packages on their computer systems.

That is according to Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, who has asserted that back up to protect firms against online threats is something that more companies need to work towards ascertaining.

"Over the last few years more and more small businesses are becoming dependent on technology," he said.

"It is used in all companies, from the one man builder to all the way up to the multi-national. And the one man builder has to be concerned because if he keeps information about his business on his computer, and it gets compromised, he may not have anything to show the tax man.

"At the very minimum they have to be aware of that. For the companies that use the internet as part of their day to day work, it can be devastating."

He did, however, note that most businesses are fairly well protected.

According to recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).