Many computers around the world have become vulnerable to being hijacked after computing giant Microsoft identified a critical error in Internet Explorer, it has emerged.

Competitors of the Microsoft product such as Opera, Chrome and the main rival in Mozilla's Firefox have been recommended as alternatives until a patch is issued to fix the problem.

The core problem means that computer users are susceptible to having their passwords stolen by internet criminals who can access the information through a gateway opened through the browser itself.

It means that a large amount of people are at risk due to the browser's dominance in the world, although Microsoft is currently working on an emergency update for all computers to right the problem which until now has gone unnoticed.

Firefox was found to be increasing its market share of browser usage by Net Applications in a recent survey of browsing habits, with the company also understanding that Internet Explorer's share dropped to less than 70 per cent.

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).