Cameron Diaz fans, look out. The actress has made McAfee's list as the most dangerous celebrity to search for in cyberspace.
Cameron Diaz is the
riskest celebrity to
search for online. Justin Timberlake's Ex Knocks Current Girlfriend Biel to #3 Spot; Fourth Annual Report by McAfee Reveals Searching for the Stars is Safer This Year
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 19, 2010 – 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 Celebrities™ 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 SiteMcAfee 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 screensavers," "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:
"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 BeautiesThree 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 AthletesTennis 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 DangerousTeen 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 PackPresident 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 softwareMcAfee 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 email 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 anti-virus, 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.
