Security firm McAfee has completed it fourth annual Most Dangerous Celebrities study to find out what famous people are most likely to be targeted by cybercriminals for online hijacking and Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz is top of the list followed by Julia Roberts and Jessica Biel.
McAfee found that web surfers looking for information on Diaz have a 10pc chance of being brought to a site loaded with risks including spam, spyware, adware, phishing or other such malware.
The risk increases when fans are searching the web for images, video or free desktop wallpaper of these celebrities as these often come loaded with viruses.
However, the good news is that the risk to internet users Googling or Binging for celebrity gossip or info is slightly lower this year and if you’re looking for information on US president Barack Obama or politician Sarah Palin, you’ll be happy to know that these are amongst the safest.
“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.”
Other risque celebrities on the cyberspace front include Brad Pitt, Gisele Bundchen, Anna Paquin (of True Blood fame), Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
“Cybercriminals follow the same hot topics as consumers, and create traps based on the latest trends,” added 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.”
