Corporate laptop users are putting their company?s networks at risk by downloading non-work related software capable of spreading viruses and spyware.

Some 86 per cent of employees with laptops have admitted to installing software onto their machines when outside of the office, with many using their laptops to access peer-to-peer web sites and download illegal music files and movies, according to research from Dynamic Markets and Websense.

Malicious code, such as spyware and viruses, found on many of these sites is then infecting laptops and consequently business networks when they are reconnected to corporate systems, the survey of 500 European business laptop users says.

'Employee actions are leading to potential damage to the business,' said Mark Murtagh, technical director EMEA at Websense. 'It could lead to malicious code such as spyware and viruses entering the corporate network.'

Only one in ten of the people interviewed cared that their company could face prosecution due to breach of copyright, resulting from them downloading illegal music files and movies.

And while some 42 per cent of users admit to visiting peer-to-peer, adult content and hacking websites only 32 per cent of workers believe the IT department is responsible for what ends up on their laptops while it is being used at home.

But despite the growth in corporate security risks, resulting from mobile working, only half of companies have any tools in place to manage internet access on laptops, with only a quarter of businesses physically enforcing these policies.

The concern is increased by the fact that only seven per cent of employees know properly what spyware is.

'I don't believe businesses are doing a good enough job to raise awareness among staff about spyware and phishing,' said Murtagh. 'And this could lead to sensitive company information becoming exposed.'