A new TalkTalk commissioned YouGov study into the broadband habits of 19,828 UK adults ('Life Online') has claimed that almost half (45%) of all internet connected homes have suffered some form of cyber-attack, although this apparently included being "bombarded with unwanted 'pop-up' advertising".

The ISP estimates that more than 700,000 attempts at identity theft were also mounted on Britain’s homes during the first quarter of 2011 and that 89% of emails sent last year were SPAM (unwanted or malicious junk). The single most prominent form of cyber-attack was Adware (35%) related, which uses various methods (e.g. keyloggers) to collect sensitive private information from your computer.

TalkTalk's List of the Top 6 UK Cyber Attacks
1. Adware - 34%
2. Trojan horses, spyware - 14%
3. Viruses - 14%
4. Worms - 5%
5. Identity theft, phishing - 4%
6. Hacking - 3%
(None of these - 55%)

The vast majority of respondents to the survey agreed that it was important to protect their internet connections, yet 10% of broadband ISP customers said they relied "solely on their own vigilance" instead of using security software. Personal vigilance alone is not enough to spot all threats, many of which can creep in silently.

Elsewhere 23% of parents claimed to have seen their children (those aged 6-17) accidentally download a virus on to the home computer and 5% witnessed them giving out personal information online; some 73% of parents sight this as being their "biggest concern".