Pitt Tops 'Most Dangerous Celebrities To Search For On The Web' List

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-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, September 18, 2008, 14:44

Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has been dubbed as the most dangerous celebrity to search for on the Web, according to McAfee researchers.

The researchers said fans searching for information and pictures of the actor, or downloads, wallpaper and screen savers, have an 18 per cent chance of having their PCs infected with a virus, spyware, spam, phishing and adware.

"Cyber criminals employ numerous methods, yet one of the simplest but most effective ways is to trick consumers into infecting themselves by capitalising on Americans' interest in celebrity gossip," The Age.com.au quoted Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee's Product Development & Avert Labs, as saying.

"Tapping into current events, pop culture or commonly browsed sites is an easy way to achieve this," he added.

According to the company, web surfers looking for celebrity gossip, screen savers and ringtones are often directed to fake Internet sites that look legitimate but pose a risk to the security of their computers.
Beyonce Knowleswas rated the second most dangerous celebrity query. Rounding out the list of riskiest searches are Lindsey Lohan, Cameron Diaz, George Clooney and Angelina Jolie who was the subject of a major malware attack earlier this year.