Businesses are being advised to avoid Internet Explorer as the search engine has been exposed to a security flaw that allows criminals to hack into computers that are using the software.

Users are being urged to switch to other browsers such as Firefox and Safari until the problem, which allows cyber criminals to steal passwords and other confidential information, is fixed.

Microsoft has stated that the number of affected computers is small and that they are working to fix the browser's problem, which is used by over 1bn computers worldwide.

"This exploit only seems to effect 0.02% of internet sites," said John Curran of Microsoft UK.