People are becoming more aware of the need for IT security, it has been claimed.

Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, said that research conducted by the firm revealed that more than 90 per cent of people now have anti-virus software on their PCs and the figure was even higher for small businesses.

However, he warned that people also needed to ensure they had software in place to deal with other potential threats.

Mr Neate said: "We are seeing an increase in people using anti-spyware but nowhere near as much as anti-virus software. It’s a two pronged attack … you need to make sure that your security software is a combined anti-virus and anti-spyware package."

He added that many people are not aware of the difference between the two IT security threats, but that many firms are now offering the software in a bundle to tackle the problem.

Get Safe Online is a joint project conducted by the government, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and leading businesses.

According to a 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) In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were 'guaranteed response times' and 'allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues'.