Report: 70% of consumers now shopping online

There has been an increase of almost ten per cent in the number of people shopping online over the past two years, with 70 per cent now searching for internet deals, new figures suggest.

According to the figures from the Get Safe Online Report 2009, there has been a two per cent increase during the same period in the number of people using multiple passwords for different websites, although the figure remains relatively low at 33 per cent.

In addition, the number of people admitting to opening email attachments from unknown senders - constituting a major security risk - has fallen by nearly ten per cent, suggesting security awareness has risen since 2007.

Garreth Griffith, head of UK risk management at PayPal, said: "People are protecting themselves more, protecting their machines more [and are] more likely to behave safer on the internet. But I think there is a long way to go."

Substantial savings can be accessed by using the internet, while applications like VoIP solutions can help produce savings on communications.

The rate of domestic internet take-up has risen by ten per cent since 2007, the survey reveals.