Cameron Diaz most dangerous net search
Obama, Palin among the safest celebrity searches, McAfee says
Last Updated: Thursday, August 19, 2010 | 1:36 PM ET
CBC News
Putting the name of Hollywood star Cameron Diaz into a search engine can be downright dangerous according to security company McAfee.
Searching for Cameron Diaz on the internet yields a 10 per cent chance of downloading malware. (Bob Edme/Associated Press)According to the company's fourth annual list of risky searches, Diaz delivers a 10 per cent chance of landing on a site that will load threats such as viruses, adware, spam or other malware onto your computer.
Cybercriminals often use the names of celebrities to lure people to sites that are used to deliver malicious software to the unsuspecting searcher's computer.
Programs that can damage a person's computer or jeopardize their private information can be hidden in photos, videos and screen savers.
Adding a second search term to a celebrity's name, such as "screensaver," or "download" can double the chances of landing on something nasty.
"This year, the search results for celebrities are safer than they've been in previous years, but there are still dangers when searching online," Dave Marcus, security researcher at McAfee Labs, said in a release.
"Consumers are getting smarter about searching online, yet cybercriminals are getting sneakier in their techniques."
Among the safest celebrity searches are Barack Obama and Sarah Palin.
The top 10 most dangerous celebrity searches:
- Cameron Diaz, actress
- Julia Roberts, actress
- Jessica Biel, actress
- Gisele Bundchen, supermodel
- Brad Pitt, actor
- Adriana Lima, Victoria's Secret model
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nicole Kidman, actresses (tie)
- Tom Cruise, actor
- Heidi Klum, television host, Penelope Kruz, actress (tie)
- Anna Paquin, actress
