Cameron Diaz has replaced Jessica Biel as the most dangerous
celebrity to search for on the Web, according to security company
McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE). For the fourth year in a row, McAfee
researched popular culture’s most famous people to reveal the
riskiest celebrity athletes, musicians, politicians, comedians and
Hollywood stars on the Web.
The McAfee Most Dangerous CelebritiesTM study found movie stars
and models top the “most dangerous” list this year while
politicians like Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are among the
safest.
Cybercriminals often use the names of popular celebrities to
lure people to sites that are actually laden with malicious
software. Anyone looking for the latest videos or pictures could
end up with a malware-ridden computer instead of just trendy
content.
“This year, the search results for celebrities are safer than
they’ve been in previous years, but there are still dangers when
searching online,” said Dave Marcus, security researcher for McAfee
Labs. “Through consumer education and tools, such as McAfee®
SiteAdvisor® site ratings, consumers are getting smarter about
searching online, yet cybercriminals are getting sneakier in their
techniques. Now they’re hiding malicious content in ‘tiny’ places
like shortened URLs that can spread virally in social networking
sites and Twitter, instead of on websites and downloads.”
Cameron Diaz Searches Yield Ten
Percent Chance of Landing on a Malicious Site
McAfee research found that searching for the latest Cameron Diaz
pictures and downloads yields a ten percent chance of landing on a
website that’s tested positive for online threats, such as spyware,
adware, spam, phishing, viruses and other malware.
Fans searching for “Cameron Diaz” or “Cameron Diaz and
downloads,” “Cameron Diaz and screen savers,” “Cameron Diaz and
wallpaper,” “Cameron Diaz and photos” and “Cameron Diaz and videos”
are at risk of running into online threats designed to steal
personal information. Clicking on these risky sites and downloading
files like photos, videos or screensavers exposes surfers or
consumers to the risk of downloading the viruses and malware.
The study uses SiteAdvisor site ratings, which indicates which
sites are risky to search for celebrity names on the Web and
calculate an overall risk percentage. The top 10 celebrities from
this year’s study with the highest percentages of risk are:
Position Celebrity 1
Cameron Diaz – Searching
for Diaz results in a one in ten chance of landing on a risky site.
She has most recently been in the spotlight with blockbuster
movies, “Knight and Day” and “Shrek Forever After.” When “Cameron
Diaz and screensavers” was searched, 19 percent of the sites were
identified as containing malicious downloads. 2
Julia
Roberts – Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts is one of
America’s sweethearts, and will soon be in the spotlight with her
upcoming release of “Eat, Pray, Love.” The overall risk of
searching for Roberts is nine percent, yet searching for “Julia
Roberts and downloads” results in a 20 percent chance of
downloading a photo, wallpaper or other file laden with malware. 3
Jessica Biel – Last year’s Most Dangerous Celebrity fell two
spots with searches resulting in fewer risky sites this year. Biel
continues to be in the spotlight with her on-again, off-again
relationship with Justin Timberlake, and appeared in “The A-Team”
in June 2010. While her overall search risk is nine percent,
searching for “Jessica Biel and screensavers” results in a 17
percent chance of landing on a risky site. 4
Gisele Bündchen
– The world’s highest-paid supermodel moved up two spots since last
year. Searching for “Gisele Bündchen and screensavers” can prove
risky, 15 percent of the search results for this beauty can put
spyware, malware or viruses on your computer. 5
Brad Pitt –
Pitt is often in the spotlight with news of his movies and his
personal life. It’s no wonder why this leading man has been in the
top ten for the past three years. He moved up in rank five spots
this year. Downloading photos, screensavers, or other files of Brad
can potentially put adware or spyware in your computer. 6
Adriana Lima – Searching for downloads of this Brazilian
beauty can direct users to red-ranked sites. Lima is best known for
being a Victoria’s Secret Angel since 2000. 7
Jennifer Love
Hewitt, Nicole Kidman – Searching for these Hollywood starlets
resulted in an equal number of risky download websites. 8
Tom
Cruise – With recent buzz around his MTV Awards performance as
well as his movie, “Knight and Day,” Cruise rises to the top ten. 9
Heidi Klum, Penelope Cruz – Both of these ladies are
consistently in the spotlight, and share the #9 spot.
Cybercriminals use their names to lure people to risky sites. Klum
hosts “Project Runway” and Cruz has been in the spotlight recently
for her role in the “Sex and the City 2” movie and is expected to
be in the fourth film of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. 10
Anna Paquin – This “True Blood” star is as dangerous on the
Web as she is on the screen. Searching for screensavers of Paquin
can lead you to downloads filled with malware.
“Cybercriminals follow the same hot topics as consumers, and
create traps based on the latest trends,” continued Marcus.
“Whether you’re surfing the Web from your computer or your phone or
clicking on links in Twitter about your favorite celeb, you should
surf safely, and make sure you’re using the latest security
software.”
Beware of Victoria’s Secret
Beauties
Three of Victoria’s Secret top models are among the top ten this
year. Searching for downloads of sexy Gisele Bündchen (#4), Adriana
Lima (#6), and Heidi Klum (#9) can result in landing on a high
percentage of risky sites.
Dangerous Athletes
Tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick came in at (#13)
and (#14) respectively. Most of the risky sites were uncovered when
searching for screensavers featuring these sexy athletes. David
Beckham ranked (#29) and Tiger Woods ranked (#33) this year.
“Bieber Fever” is Not
Dangerous
Teen sensation Justin Bieber ranked towards the bottom of the
list at #46. This young star recently broke a YouTube record with
more views than Lady Gaga (#37). Other young Hollywood stars like
Miley Cyrus (#44) and Zac Efron (#40) were also relatively safe to
search.
Obama and Palin at the Bottom of
the Pack
President Barack Obama (#49) and Sarah Palin (#50) are not among
the most risky personalities to search; they ranked in the bottom
of this year’s results, moving even lower on the list compared to
last year.
Keep Safe with McAfee SiteAdvisor
Plus software
McAfee security experts urge consumers to surf safely by using
McAfee SiteAdvisor Plus software ($19.99). It displays red, yellow
and green icons on the search results page that indicates the
safety-level of websites. It also checks the safety of links in
e-mail and instant messaging applications, blocks risky websites,
adds anti-phishing protection, and helps users more safely surf,
shop and bank online. SiteAdvisor Plus software is already included
with McAfee Total Protection™ software, a comprehensive security
suite that protects against antivirus, anti-spyware, and identity
and firewall protection.
Consumers can also safely surf the Web by using the Yahoo!
SearchScan toolbar, which only shows ratings for “red” sites that
are have potentially dangerous downloads including viruses, spyware
and other harmful software.
Web surfers should visit the McAfee Security Advice Center and
Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mcafee for information on the
latest threats, and tips on surfing safely.
About McAfee® SiteAdvisor® technology
McAfee SiteAdvisor technology protects users from malicious
websites and browser exploits, and notifies users whether a site
has been scanned by McAfee for potential vulnerabilities.
SiteAdvisor technology tests and rates nearly every trafficked site
on the Internet and uses red, yellow and green icons to indicate
the website’s risk level.
SiteAdvisor site ratings are created by using patented advanced
technology to conduct automated website tests. The SiteAdvisor
software can be downloaded quickly and for free at
www.mcafee.com/siteadvisor. SiteAdvisor software works with
Internet Explorer and Firefox.
About McAfee, Inc.
McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the
world's largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee
delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help
secure systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world,
allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop
the Web more securely. Backed by unrivaled Global Threat
Intelligence, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home
users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by
enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data,
prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously
monitor and improve their security. McAfee secures your digital
world. http://www.mcafee.com
Note: McAfee, the McAfee logo, SiteAdvisor and McAfee Total
Protection are registered trademarks or trademarks of McAfee, Inc.,
or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other
names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. ©2010
McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved. The product plans, specifications
and descriptions herein are provided for information only, subject
to change without notice, and without warranty of any kind, express
or implied.
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