More than a third of Brits (35 percent) think super-fast broadband services will encourage illegal downloading, says Moneysupermarket.
Research by the comparison website revealed that 18 percent of UK web users have admitted to illegally downloading content on the web.
Of those, 74 percent said they obtained copyrighted music from the web, while 41 percent had downloaded films illegally and a quarter had used the web to source pirated software.
Mike Wilson, manager of broadband at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Illegal downloading is already a big problem for the likes of the music and film industries and with superfast broadband packages set to become commonplace, the problem seems likely to get worse.
"For many people, broadband is as essential a service as electricity and gas, and those who suffer Wi-Fi hijacking or share a connection with multiple users should not be penalised for the actions of others," Wilson said in regards to the Digital Economy Act that was made law by the government last week.
The Act features a three-strikes rule designed to tackle internet piracy. Account holders whose IP addresses have been used in illegal downloading will be issued with warning letters and emails, even if a cybercriminal hijacked their Wi-Fi connection to illegally share files.
Furthermore, repeat offenders will face legal action and 'technical measures' such as speed restrictions or even a possible temporary ban from the web.
According to the comparison site, nearly one in five (19 percent) web users don't have password protected internet access, which leaves them wide open to becoming the victim of Wi-Fi hacking.
"A significant amount of people admit to Wi-Fi hijacking and with the potential to suffer recourse from your ISP for illegal downloading, it is imperative that people take appropriate measures to protect their wireless connections," added Wilson.
Meanwhile, a survey released earlier this month has revealed that one in three UK citizens think it is acceptable to use pirated software in the workplace or at home, despite admitting to having little grasp of the risks involved.
Microsoft's Attitudes to Piracy survey compared people's attitudes towards film, music and software piracy, as well as their understanding of the dangers involved.
The poll revealed that piracy is now almost as popular in the workplace as it is at home, with one in eight of the 1,000 respondents admitting to using pirated software at work, and more than half (57 per cent) saying they believed their boss would consider the practice acceptable.
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