German-born super-model, Spin City actress and hottie Heidi Klum is now the most dangerous celebrity on the Web according to anti-malware firm McAfee‘s fifth annual Most Dangerous Celebrities study. Heidi Klum replaced Cameron Diaz as the number one riskiest celebrity to search for on the web.
McAfee research found that searching for the latest Heidi Klum pictures and downloads almost a 1 in 10 chance of landing on a website that has tested positive for online threats, such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses and other malware.
Paula Greve director of Web security research at McAfee said:
Consumers should be particularly aware of malicious content hiding in ‘tiny’ places like shortened URLs that can spread virally in social networking sites, or through e-mails and text messages from friends.
McAfee says that cyber-criminals 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.
Top 10 dangerous celebrity list
1 – Heidi Klum, The former Victoria’s Secret model and current producer of “Project Runway” moved up from No. 10 in 2010 to No. 1 for 2011. Searching for Ms. Klum results in nearly a one in ten chance of landing on a risky site.
2 – Cameron Diaz, 2010’s Most Dangerous Celebrity fell to second place, with searches resulting in slightly fewer risky sites this year.
3 – Piers Morgan is a new addition to the top ten list, Morgan is also the most dangerous male celebrity.
4 – Jessica Biel, 2009’s Most Dangerous Celebrity fell to fourth place this year with searches resulting in fewer risky sites.
5 – Katherine Heigl, the former “Grey’s Anatomy” star is new to the top ten in 2011.
6 – Mila Kunis, the former star of “That 70s Show” is also new to the top ten, bolstered by starring in “Friends with Benefits.”
7 – Anna Paquin, the “True Blood” star is as dangerous on the Web as she is on the screen. She moved up from No. 10 last year to No. 7 this year.
8 – Adriana Lima who is best known for being a Victoria’s Secret Angel since 2000 she has become slightly safer, moving her from No. 6 last year, to No. 8 this year.
9 – Scarlett Johansson, the 2010 GQ Magazine “Babe of The Year” is new to the list this year.
10 – Brad Pitt, Emma Stone, and Rachel McAdams, Mr. Pitt has been on the list for the past four years. Ms. Stone and Ms. McAdams are new to the top ten.
Gisele Bündchen, Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts have all dropped out of this year’s top ten list. Noticeably missing from this years list is Charlie Sheen who made headlines with his highly public departure from “Two and a Half Men”
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But BitDefender called Jay Leno, the most dangerous celeb in cyberspace. It is good to see Intel McAfee wisely spending its marketing dollars on info like this when Microsoft (MSFT) is going to kill the anti-virus market by baking AV into Windows 8. Maybe I will get more hits after putting these pop names in here.
Related articles
- Heidi Klum Named ‘Most Dangerous Celebrity on the Web (livescience.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.
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McAfee 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. These fans 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 screen savers exposes surfers or consumers to the risk of downloading viruses and malware.