Cameron Diaz could wreck your PC, McAfee warns

Cameron Diaz’s next film could easily be titled “There’s Something About Malware.”That’s because, according to McAfee, Diaz is now the “most dangerous” celebrity to search for on the Internet. In its annual rankings of the most dangerous celebrity searches on the web released today, McAfee says that “searching for Diaz results in a one in ten chance of landing on a risky site.” Additionally, 19% of sites that popped up while searching for Cameron Diaz screensavers are found to contain malicious downloads, the security firm finds.

Techiest celebrity endorsements

Jessica Biel, who was last year’s most dangerous celebrity search, dropped two spots and is now the third-most dangerous celebrity search, as 9% of her search results are for risky sites. Julia Roberts, whose film “Eat, Pray, Love” was the second-highest grossing film at the box office last weekend, came in second place with 9% of search results dubbed risky. Brad Pitt was the most dangerous male celebrity on the list, ranking fifth overall, while Tom Cruise was the only other male celebrity to crack the top 10, checking in at number eight. (See also: Rating the malware blockers) 

“Cybercriminals follow the same hot topics as consumers and create traps based on the latest trends,” says McAfee security researcher Dave Marcus. “Whether you’re surfing the web from your computer or your phone or clicking on links in Twitter about your favorite celeb, you should surf safely and make sure you’re using the latest security software.”

Read more about wide area network in Network World's Wide Area Network section.

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