Home broadband users can take a number of simple steps to protect themselves from the threat presented by viruses, hackers and cybercriminals, an expert believes.

Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, has claimed that protecting a PC through measures such as installing anti-virus and anti-spyware applications is the most important step.

These should be updated regularly, along with one's operating system, as this minimises the number of security weaknesses that people can exploit, he added.

The expert said: "People have to make sure they are doing everything right when they are online. It can be relatively simple to do that."

Mr Neate claimed that home broadband users should also be wary of the amount of information they include on social networking sites, as this can be enough to allow those involved with organised crime to impersonate someone's identity.

Recent research published by the UK Cards Association found that the amount lost to online banking fraud in Britain in 2009 fell by 14 per cent to £59.7 million.

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