Bach Seat

Superheroes are supposed to be our friends but sometimes a plot twist allows their arch-enemies to trick our heroes turn against us. This is also true on the intertubes. Attackers are using our superheroes to infect computers to scam people into visiting compromised sites and downloading dangerous software according to Santa Clara, California-based McAfee.

The security company scoured the web and identified the most dangerous superheroes online. The report, “Most Toxic Superhero 2014” estimates how likely the average user is to come across malware by searching for the name of any given superhero.

McAfee lined up 11 likely suspects. They gathered viable threat evidence from popular search engines like Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO), and Microsoft (MSFT) Bing for spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses, and other malware. The company also searched each superhero’s name in conjunction with common phrases like “free torrent download” and “free app,” as seeding fake torrents is a common way for attackers to infect computers.

The most dangerous superheroes online by percent of his search traffic leading to unsafe sites are:

1. Superman 16.5%
2. Thor 16.35%
3. Wonder Woman 15.7% (tied)
4. Aquaman 15.7% (tied)
5. X-Man Wolverine 15.1%
6. Batman 14.2%
7. Black Widow 13.85%
8. Captain America  13.5%
9. Green Lantern 11.25%
10. Ghost Rider 10.83%

McAfee tells citizen do-gooders to protect themselves by:

• Beware of clicking on third-party links. You should access content directly from the official websites of content providers.
• Ensure you use web protection that will let you know of risky sites or links before you visit them. Stick to official news sites for breaking news.
• Don’t download videos from suspect sites. This should be common sense, but it bears repeating: don’t download anything from a website you don’t trust — especially video. Most news clips you’d want to see can easily be found on official video sites and don’t require you to download anything.
• “Free downloads” are by far the highest virus-prone search term. Anyone searching for videos or files to download should be careful not to unleash unsafe content such as malware onto their computers.
• Always use password protection on your phone and other mobile devices. If you don’t and your phone is lost or stolen, anyone who picks up the device could have access to your personal information online.
• Don’t “log in” or provide other information: If anything asks for your information—credit card, email, home address, Facebook login, or other information—to grant access to an exclusive story, don’t give it out. Such requests are a common tactic for phishing that could lead to identity theft.
• Search online using an Internet security program in the background. These tools protect users from malicious websites and browser exploits. A complimentary version of McAfee’s SiteAdvisor software can be downloaded at www.siteadvisor.com

rb-

Whether you live in Metropolis or Gotham, do-gooders need not work very hard to avoid these scams. Avoid dark alleys where superhero websites tend to have the same flaws as any other unsafe page. Keep an eye out for typos and files that look suspicious. Run an Internet security program in the background (your antivirus or anti-malware program probably has one built-in). Lastly, check what other commenters say before downloading a torrent.

Related articles

• Mobile malware: Past and current rends, prevention strategies (cloudentr.com)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.