Jessica Beil is most dangerous celeb in cyberspace
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 26 August 2009, 15:06 IST   |    5 Comments
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Jessica Beil is most dangerous celeb in cyberspace
Bangalore: If you are thinking of searching for wallpapers and videos of Jessica Beil online then think again. Hollywood actress Jessica Beil has topped the list of most dangerous celeb to search online. According to McAfee's third annual report which lists Hollywood's most "dangerous" online celebrities, fans searching online for Beil will have a one-in-five chance of hitting a web site with malware. "Cybercriminals are star watchers too--they latch onto popular celebrities to encourage the download of malicious software in disguise. Consumers' obsession with celebrity news and culture is harmless in theory, but one bad download can cause a lot of damage to a computer," said Jeff Green, Senior Vice President of McAfee Avert Labs. McAfee found that searching for photos, videos, wallpaper and screensavers of celebrities in the list can be harmful to the health of computer. Cyber criminals know that Hollywood actresses (and a few actors) are most searched on internet and hence offer free stuff just to spread malware. Other celebrities that follow the list after Jessica Beil include singer Beyonce at No. 2, 'Friends' star Jennifer Aniston at No. 3 and football hero Tom Brady at No. 4. Singer Jessica Simpson is on No. 5 and is followed by Gisele Bundchen, Miley Cyrus, Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie and Ashley Tisdale. Last year, the list was topped by Brad Pitt, who has slipped to number 10 this year. Surprisingly, Pitt and Brady are the only male celeb in the top 10. McAfee was surprised to find U.S President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama ranked so low at 34th and 39th, respectively. The report shows that hackers use pop culture trends to spread viruses and malicious software. "They really are smart. They can spot a trend as well as anyone else can - as well as Paris Hilton can," said Shane Keats, a Research Analyst at McAfee.

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