People who are accessing their bank accounts and emails when using a public computer should be well aware of the risks they could be up against without even knowing, it has been stated.

Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at protection provider Sophos, said that people should never be confident of public computer security, particularly if it is found in a hotel, internet cafe or even if it is another person they know.

He continued: "You simply don't know what the other ten users who have been there that day have been installing on those computers."

In order to ensure that things are kept safe and secure, Mr Cluley recommended that people never use a dictionary word as their password to an email account or internet banking facility.

According to a survey conducted by Accenture last year, 88 per cent of the 800 people interviewed in the US and UK said that personal irresponsibility is the main cause of fraud and online identity theft.

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).