Top Ten Most Dangerous Celebrity Searches and Why They're Dangerous

The most recent honor actress Cameron Diaz has received is the most dangerous celebrity in cyberspace by McAfee, Inc.

Every year, internet security company, McAfee, publishes a list of the most dangerous celebrities to search for on the web. They do this to alert people of the dangers of malicious sites on the web.

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 of photos could just 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... 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," said Dave Marcus, security researcher for McAfee labs.

McAfee research found that searching for the latest Cameron Diaz photos 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.

It is important, as an everyday internet user, to be aware of these dangers and of how you can prevent them from affecting you. One great step to take is to either purchase a good and trusted antivirus/internet security software such as McAfee or Norton or, you could download a free software such as Avast!, beware though, when downloading free antivirus software that isn't trusted as many cybercriminals disguise their malware as free antivirus software so people thing that they are getting protection when they are really hurting their computer.

On the next page is the complete list of the top ten most dangerous celebrities:



1. Cameron Diaz

2. Julia Roberts

3. Jessica Biel

4. Gisele Bundchen

5. Brad Pitt

6. Adriana Lima

7. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nicole Kidman

8. Tom Cruise

9. Heidi Klum, Penelope Cruz

10. Anna Paquin

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.

Cybercriminals follow the same hot topics as consumers so they create traps based on the latest internet trends. That means that if you are searching for pictures of the latest film or something like that, you should really beware of what you click on.