McAfee researched popular culture’s most famous people to reveal riskiest celebrity sportsmen, actors and politicians across the web and unveil the 2013 rendition of ‘Most Dangerous Celebrity’ research. The study highlights the trend of cybercriminals using celebs to take advantage of fans seeking more information about their idols. Cybercriminals often lure unsuspecting supporters to sites laden with malware that can steal passwords and personal information. These criminals capitalize on the public’s fascination with celebrity to lure them to sites laden with malware that enables them to steal passwords and personal information. This year, searching for a celebrity name coupled with the search terms ‘wall paper’, ‘videos’, ‘nude pictures’ resulted in the highest instances of malware-laden sites.
Commenting on the findings of the study, Venkatasubrahmanyam Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering- Consumer and Mobile, Business Group, McAfee India Centre said, “In India where celebrities are given the status of demi gods, cybercriminals often use their names to lure people to sites that actually host malicious software designed to compromise personal details and disrupt devices. By including the names of popular celebrities in a website's search tags, cyber criminals are able to direct more visitors to malicious sites where they may unwittingly sign up for spam or harmful spyware ending up with a malware ridden devices.”
The study uses McAfee® SiteAdvisor® site ratings, which indicate which sites are risky to search when attached to celebrity names on the Web and calculate an overall risk percentage. The top 10 celebrities from this year’s Indian study with the highest percentages of risk in the Indian cyberspace are:
Rank
Celebrity
1
Priyanka Chopra, Bollywood’s desi girl who recently entered the international music scene with hit singles such as ‘In my city’ and ‘Exotic’, occupies the 1st position on the India's most dangerous celebrity list with 79 infected search results
2
Debuting the list at 2nd position this year, with 75 malicious sites to his credit, is Shah rukh Khan who zoomed into the top charts with his dimpled smile and magnetic screen presence in the block buster of the season- Chennai Express
3
One of the most sought after stars in Bollywood, Salman Khan’s pictures of his alleged reunion with Shahrukh Khan at an Iftar party flooded the cyber space recently. He ranks 3rd in India's most dangerous online celebrities ranking, with 68 infected sites.
4
The 4th most dangerous Indian celebrity on the internet is Kareena Kapoor, one of Bollywood’s highest paid actresses whose wedding with Saif Ali Khan brought her back on the radar. She has a score of 63 malware-laden websites in cyber space.
5
One of Bollywood’s most enigmatic stars, the adventurous Khiladi, Akshay Kumar who played the role of India’s most wanted gangster in Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara stands at 5th position with 62 infected search results.
6
With 55 infected websites to his name, at 6th position is the Chote Nawab of Bollywood - Saif Ali Khan who is all set to do a romantic comedy titled Happy Ending, after his recent zombie themed movie- Go Goa Gone
7
The industry’s ‘angry young man’, Amitabh Bachchan, stands 7th in the list, with 53 infected search results
8
At 8th position with 50 infected sites in Indian cyber space is Farhan Akhtar who shot to fame for his sculpted body and award-winning performance in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
9
2012’s most dangerous celebrity, Sunny Leone dropped to 9th position this year. Having 49 infected search results to her name, this sexy Canadian model/actress has carved a niche in Bollywood and is all set to star with veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah in her next film - Jackpot
10
Hrithik Roshan’s lover boy looks and well chiselled body makes him a mass favourite. With his popularity steadily increasing in cyber space for his keenly awaited super-hero movie- Krrish 3, he ranks 10th as the most dangerous celebrity online with 48 infected search results.
Men are More Dangerous than Women
Priyanka Chopra (No. 1), Kareena Kapoor (No. 4) and Sunny Leone (No. 9) are the only women to rank in the top 10 Most Dangerous Celebrity list
From One Year to Another
Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone & Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have all dropped out of this year’s list (in 2012 they ranked No. 2, No. 5, No. 7, and No. 9 respectively).
Tips to Stay Protected:
· Beware of content that prompts you to download anything before providing you the content. You may want to opt to watch streaming videos or download content from official websites of content providers.
· “Free downloads” are significantly the highest virus-prone search term. Anyone searching for videos or files to download should be careful as not to unleash malware on their computer.
· Always use password protection on your phone and other mobile devices. If your phone is lost or stolen, anyone who picks up the device could publish your information online.
· Established news sites may not entice you with exclusives for one solid reason: there usually aren’t any. Try to stick to official news sites that you trust for breaking news. However, trusted sites can also fall prey to hackers. Make sure to use a safe search tool that will notify you of risky sites or links before you visit them.
· Don’t download videos from suspect sites. This should be common sense, but it bears repeating: don’t download anything from a website you don’t trust — especially video. Most news clips you’d want to see can easily be found on official video sites, and don’t require you to download anything. If a website offers an exclusive video for you to download, don’t.
Don’t “log in” or provide other information: If you receive a message, text or email or visit a third-party website that asks for your information—credit card, email, home address, Facebook login, or other information—for access to an exclusive story, don’t give it out. Such requests are a common tactic for phishing that could lead to identity theft.
If you do decide to search for information on a major event or celebrity in the news, make sure your PC is secure with software such as McAfee Total Protection, which provides complete protection for your online life.
· A complimentary version of SiteAdvisor software can be downloaded at www.siteadvisor.com.
About McAfee SiteAdvisor technology
McAfee SiteAdvisor technology protects users from malicious websites and browser exploits. SiteAdvisor technology tests and rates nearly every trafficked site on the Internet and uses red, yellow and green icons to indicate the website’s risk level.
SiteAdvisor site ratings are created by using patented advanced technology to conduct automated website tests SiteAdvisor software works with Internet Explorer and Firefox.
About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), empowers businesses, the public sector, and home users to safely experience the benefits of the Internet. The company delivers proactive and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world. With its Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique Global Threat Intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping its customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com
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