Kodi fans have been put on alert and advised about how to protect themselves from possible security risks hitting the software and its add-ons.

The Kodi surge continues without any sign of stopping, as users continue to ditch paid TV for the online player.

Research has suggested Kodi - which offers access to thousands of channels - is being used in more than five million UK homes.

Kodi software is not illegal, but developers can produce third-party add-ons that provide free access to pirated and illegal content. 

The illegal add-ons are being targeted by ISP's, government agencies, broadcasters and rights holders.

As more and more people turn to Kodi, the development have issued users an update on how to stay safe from possible security risks.

In a new blog post, the Kodi team said: “These days keeping your software updated is becoming more and more important because of possible security risks. 

“Although we will never claim Kodi will become risk free when you are using it, we will certainly try to improve security and reduce possible risks in each version we release. 

“This not only involves the core code of which Kodi is build but also all the external code libraries we use to make it a functional program. 

“As such it is quite important that when possible you try to update Kodi to the most recent released final version.”

Like with your smartphone or laptop, best practice is to ensure you have the most up-to-date version of software installed on your device.

You can check if there any updates available for Kodi by visiting kodi.tv to see if there’s any news or patches available to download.

You can check if you’re running the latest version of Kodi every time you load the software up.

Each time you start Kodi it will briefly show a splash screen image that shows which version of the software you’re running.

In case you’re not quick enough to spot it, you can head to the settings screen to see what Kodi build you have.

In terms of updates for Kodi add-ons, this is usually an automated process with Kodi contacting the main repository server on regular basis.

Kodi said in some rare cases users may need to trigger a manual update for add-ons.

Here is Kodi advice on how to manually trigger an update for your add-ons:

• Navigate to the add-on menu button and select it.

• Once you have entered the main add-on section you will have to go down to my-addons item or up to the box icon and select it.

• Once you have done that you need to press left to get the sidebar visible. Now that the sidebar has appeared you can see when the last update check was performed on this system. To trigger the check again you can navigate down toward the "Check for updates" button and select it. 

• Once you have done that Kodi will try to contact the server and get an updated add-on list. Depending on the setting you have it will automatically install the newest available version. 

In other Kodi news, it recently emerged a popular add-on developer wants to crowdfund enough money to defend against a copyright lawsuit filed by Dish Network.

The developer behind a popular add-on for the Kodi media player wants your help to fight back against “copyright bullies”.

The creator of ZemTV, which can be installed on any Kodi-powered device, has asked the public for funds to help mount a defence against a lawsuit filed by Dish Network in the United States.

ZemTV is an open-source tool that enables Kodi users to scrape video content from third-party sources.

Although the add-on provides an interface, it does not host or supply the video feed.

Broadcaster Dish Network filed a copyright infringement complaint at the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas earlier this summer to stop "unlawful retransmissions of television channels exclusively licensed to Dish throughout the US”.

ZemTV now faces fines of $150,000 for each of the three alleged counts of copyright infringement.

A spokesperson for Dish Network told Express.co.uk, “DISH is very supportive of innovation like Kodi and legal streaming services.

"The suit does not target individual end users, rather it seeks to stop a very specific add-on that supplied pirated content.

"We feel obligated to raise awareness about content that users may not realise is pirated, while also supporting our programming partners who work to create and supply content legally.

"We remain committed to combatting piracy and ensuring consumers have reliable, affordable options to access the content they enjoy."

The developer behind ZemTV, known as Shani, is now raising money for his defence.

Shani said: “The fight is rigged against the little guy, they are trying to make something illegal that shouldn't be illegal."