It’s common knowledge that pesky cyber criminals are fond of preying on unsuspecting movie and music fans by planting malicious seeds of destruction on Web pages professing to be havens of celebrity gossip and enlightenment. But, importantly, which star names should fans be particularly wary of when initiating a specific Google search?
The most dangerous man on the Internet. Avoid. Nice shades though. Image: LeeLeeLu/Flickr.
According to renowned Internet security vendor McAfee Inc., those looking to uncover the latest cool/sexy/compromising/moody/naked (delete as applicable) pictures, downloads, wallpapers and screensavers of a certain Mr. William Bradley Pitt run an 18 percent risk of having their computers bombarded by all manner of destructive Malware.
While the popularity of his ripped physique and chiselled jawline leave Pitt as the most likely target for those looking to spread viruses, spyware, spam, adware and phishing attacks, McAfee is also keen to point out that the male half of the frighteningly attractive ‘Brangelina’ partnership is not the only celebrity to exercise caution with when tiptoeing through the online minefield.
Specifically, singing sensation Beyonce tops the list of most dangerous women to search for online, closely followed by fashionable actresses Heidi Montag and Jessica Alba, screeching songstresses Mariah Carey, Rhianna and Fergie, Tom’s Cruise’s wife Katie Holmes, and everyone’s favourite adoptive parent herself Angelina Jolie.
Not to be outdone in the potential Malware stakes, other male celebrities that fall within the crosshairs of dedicated cyber pests include high-pitched howler Justin Timberlake, ex-footballing legend David Beckham and wide-eyed Cary Grant wannabe George Clooney.
“Cyber criminals employ numerous methods, yet one of the simplest but most effective ways is to trick consumers into infecting themselves by capitalizing on Americans’ interest in celebrity gossip,” warned Jeff Green, McAfee’s senior vice president of Product Development & Avert Labs, in a statement from the security firm.
“Tapping into current events, pop culture or commonly browsed sites is an easy way to achieve this,” he added.
By utilising the near constant appeal conjured up by the world of celebrity, cyber attacks are often initiated when Web-based fans searching for the likes of hot gossip, screensavers and desktop backgrounds are inadvertently directed to fake sites that engineer harmful downloads capable of covertly compromising the security of their unwitting systems.
In terms of prevention, casual Web surfers would be well advised to exercise common sense and caution when searching for celebrity-related content and should only follow download prompts (especially for supposedly ‘vital’ codecs) on sites they deem to be trustworthy and reputable.
It would also be good idea to install McAfee’s extremely handy SiteAdvisor tool, which users an easy-to-understand green, yellow, and red flagging system to instantly report a site’s standing to the user.
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)
Advertising
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)