The results of a survey of PC users show that 45 per cent of what we do online requires us to disclose personal or financial data.

The survey, by vendor Kaspersky Lab, shows that despite the increase in backdoor Trojans, keyloggers and internet scams such as targeted phishing attacks, web users have not been put off going online to conduct their banking, shopping and travel bookings.

The top online activities listed by users that require the disclosure of personal information were: banking (20 per cent of online activity); shopping (15 per cent); and travel booking (10 per cent).

'We are now so at ease giving out our personal data online that there is a risk of becoming complacent and falling for a phishing scam. These scams are getting more and more sophisticated and in some cases, harder to spot,' said David Emm, senior technology consultant at Kaspersky Lab.

Research by Kaspersky Lab shows that 34 per cent of computer-literate PC users have had their security compromised in the last 12 months.

What do you think? Email us at feedback@computing.co.uk

Further Reading:

Firms must do more to prevent ID theft

Victims of identity theft top 100m