Bach Seat

The 10th annual McAfee Top 100 Most Dangerous Celebrities to Search for Online Study, published by Intel Security, was recently released.  The yearly report uncovers which celebrities are the most dangerous to search for on Intertube.  These dangerous celeb results can expose fans to viruses, malware, and identity theft while searching for the latest information on today’s pop culture stars.  Intel (INTC) used its McAfee site rating software to find the number of risky sites generated by searches on Google, Bing, and even beleaguered Yahoo.

“Consumers today remain fascinated with celebrity culture and go online to find the latest pop culture news,” said Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist at Intel Security.  “With this craving for real-time information, many search and click without considering potential security risks.  Cyber-criminals know this and take advantage of this behavior by attempting to lead them to unsafe sites loaded with malware.”

Most Dangerous Online Celebrities

This year’s most dangerous celebrity online is Amy Schumer.  The comic joins recent most dangerous celebrity online alumni Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, and Emma Watson.  According to Intel Security, a search for the “Trainwreck” actress has a 16.1% likelihood of returning results that direct fans to sites with viruses and malware.

Justin Biber is the second most dangerous online celebrity.  As for the “Sorry” singer, there’s a 15% chance that Beliebers could connect with a malicious website.

The rest of this year’s Top 10 list included:
3.  Carson Daly 13.4%
4.  Will Smith 13.4%
5.  Rihanna 13.3%
6.  Miley Cyrus 12.7%
7.  Chis Hardwick 12.6%
8.  Daniel Tosh  11.6%
9.  Selena Gomez 11.1%
10.  Kesha 11.1%

Intel says there are two big truths: cyber-criminals try to exploit celebrity fandom for abuse.  The first is that consumers want convenience.  As people rely less on cable and, instead, search for the content they want online, they’ll find many third-party sources for their favorite music or videos.

But unofficial sources are often dangerous.  Links can send users to unsafe sites, where sneaky tactics for stealing data and usernames are awaiting.  The popular torrent file format for downloading files allows cyber-criminals to sneak viruses onto devices.

Social media-obsessed culture

The second truth attackers are exploiting is the desire for gossip – now.  In today’s social media-obsessed culture, fans want real-time information about their favorite celebrities.  It isn’t uncommon for a celebrity to share a photo, post, or comment around the world in a matter of seconds.  Those posts often spark a wave of searches.  With all that traffic, cyber-criminals can trick fans into visiting a faux-gossip website infested with malware to steal passwords, credit card information, and more.  This method is particularly effective on social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, where the standards for trust are low.

How to protect yourself

In addition to recommending anti-virus software, Intel, whose products include McAfee software, urges consumers to be skeptical when surfing the web.  But don’t worry.  No one is asking you to give up your celebrity infatuation; here are a few things you can do to make sure you’re entertained safely:

• Watch media from sources.  Are you looking for the latest episode of Amy Schumer’s TV show, Inside Amy Schumer?  Stick to the official source at comedycentral.com or well-known and trusted video streaming services like Hulu to ensure you aren’t clicking on anything malicious.
• Be wary of searching for file downloads.  Of all the celebrity-related searches we conducted, “torrent” was the riskiest by far.  According to Intel, a search for ‘Amy Schumer Torrent’ results in a 33 % chance of connecting to a malicious website.  Cybercriminals can use torrents to embed malware within authentic files, making it tricky to detect safe downloads from unsafe sources.  It’s best to avoid using torrents, especially when so many legitimate streaming options are available.
• Keep your personal information private.  Cybercriminals are always looking for ways to steal your personal information.  If you receive a request to enter information like your credit card, email, home address, or social media log-in, Intel says you should not give it out thoughtlessly.  Please research and ensure it’s not a phishing or scam attempt that could lead to identity theft.
• Use security protection while browsing.  Many software products can scan web pages you’re browsing, alerting you to malicious websites and potential threats.  This can keep you safe as you study the latest gossip.

rb-

The stars are new, but the game is the same.  In addition to applying some critical thinking to your web browsing, the same advice from 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, etc. stands……

Maybe I will get more hits after putting these pop names in here.

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.