A recent study by an American university has revealed that many internet users are unable to tell the difference between real popups and malicious scripts intent on installing viruses and malware.

Small and medium businesses may be at risk after the study, which was run on undergraduate students at North Carolina State University, proved that even computer literate attendees were susceptible to being caught out by the fake popups.

Dr Michael S Wogalter said the results of the study highlight the need to educate internet users to be cautious, with the study showing just how easy a false warning could fool someone even after a number of mistakes.

He continued: "I don't know if you could develop a legitimate message that could not be duplicated and used illegitimately."

"Be suspicious when things pop up. Don't click OK - close the box instead."

A notable alumni of North Carolina State University was Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, playing linebacker as captain of the American football team.

More than half of small businesses (53%) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support, London based Connect conducted the research in 2007.