People must check for key pointers on the internet when shopping this Christmas otherwise they may fall victim to fraud.

Catalin Cosoi, BitDefender's leading anti-spam researcher, said: "Taking advantage of the many benefits of online shopping like competitive pricing, great selection, or even freebies like zero shipping fees and free gift wrapping, it doesn't have to cost consumers more than they've bargained for."

She added that by being aware of several key issues, users from small businesses in IT using online stores can shop safely knowing that their personal information and PC are protected.

Ms Cosoi asserted that people must always shop from a secure PC with good security software, sticking to well-known and trusted sites that display security seals or padlocks in the web browser.

Furthermore, people should always be wary of "great gift" or "special offer" emails from unknown email addresses as there are millions of fakes circling over Christmas.

The use of credit cards instead of debit cards is also recommended, as debit cards offer lower liability in case of fraud.

In BitDefender's last monthly e-threats report, Trojan.Clicker.CM continued to top the charts as the most widespread and dangerous piece of malware found across the globe.

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.