{"id":81481,"date":"2016-10-15T13:56:44","date_gmt":"2016-10-15T17:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbachnet.wwwmi3-ss40.a2hosted.com\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2022-08-12T15:33:16","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T19:33:16","slug":"2016s-most-dangerous-online-celebrities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/2016s-most-dangerous-online-celebrities\/","title":{"rendered":"2016’s Most Dangerous Online Celebrities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2016's<\/a>The 10th annual McAfee Top 100 Most Dangerous Celebrities to Search for Online Study<\/a>, published by Intel Security<\/a>, was recently released.\u00a0 The yearly report uncovers which celebrities are the most dangerous to search for on Intertube<\/strong>.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Intel\u00a0(INTC<\/a>) used its McAfee site rating software to find the number of risky sites generated by searches on Google<\/a>, Bing<\/a>, and even<\/a> beleaguered<\/a> Yahoo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Intel<\/a>“Consumers today remain fascinated with celebrity culture and go online to find the latest pop culture<\/strong> news,<\/em>” said Gary Davis<\/a>, chief consumer security evangelist at Intel Security.\u00a0 “With this craving for real-time information, many search and click without considering potential security risks<\/strong>.\u00a0 Cyber-criminals know this and take advantage of this behavior by attempting to lead them to unsafe sites loaded with malware.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

Most Dangerous Online Celebrities<\/h3>\n

This year’s most dangerous celebrity online is Amy Schumer<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 The comic joins recent most dangerous celebrity online alumni Jimmy Kimmel<\/a>, Jay Leno<\/a>, and Emma Watson<\/a>.\u00a0 According to Intel Security, a search for the “Trainwreck<\/a>” actress has a 16.1% likelihood of returning results that direct fans to sites with viruses and malware<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"2016<\/a>Justin Biber<\/strong> is the second most dangerous online celebrity.\u00a0 As for the “Sorry” singer, there’s a 15% chance that Beliebers could connect with a malicious website.<\/p>\n

The rest of this year’s Top 10 list included:
\n3.\u00a0 Carson Daly<\/a> 13.4%
\n4.\u00a0 Will Smith<\/a> 13.4%
\n5.\u00a0 Rihanna<\/a> 13.3%
\n6.\u00a0 Miley Cyrus <\/a>12.7%
\n7.\u00a0 Chis Hardwick<\/a> 12.6%
\n8.\u00a0 Daniel Tosh\u00a0 <\/a>11.6%
\n9.\u00a0 Selena Gomez<\/a> 11.1%
\n10.\u00a0 Kesha<\/a> 1\"exploit<\/a>1.1%<\/p>\n

Intel says there are two big truths: cyber-criminals try to exploit celebrity fandom for abuse<\/strong>.\u00a0 The first is that consumers want convenience.\u00a0 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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But unofficial sources are often dangerous.\u00a0 Links can send users to unsafe sites, where sneaky tactics for stealing data and usernames are awaiting.\u00a0 The popular torrent file format for downloading files allows cyber-criminals to sneak viruses onto devices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"social<\/a>Social media-obsessed culture<\/h3>\n

The second truth attackers are exploiting is the desire for gossip \u2013 now.\u00a0 In today’s social media-obsessed culture<\/strong>, fans want real-time information about their favorite celebrities.\u00a0 It isn’t uncommon for a celebrity to share a photo, post, or comment around the world in a matter of seconds.\u00a0 Those posts often spark a wave of searches.\u00a0 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<\/strong>.\u00a0 This method is particularly effective on social media channels, like Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and WhatsApp<\/a>, where the standards for trust are low.<\/p>\n

How to protect yourself<\/h3>\n

In addition to recommending anti-virus software, Intel, whose products include McAfee software, urges consumers to be skeptical when surfing the web.\u00a0 But don’t worry.\u00a0 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:<\/p>\n