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Brad Pitt Most Dangerous Man On Internet
SecurityProNews
Staff Writer
2008-09-25
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Brad Pitt may be pretty, but he's also the guy most likely to give you something…on your computer. He and Justin Timberlake are considered the most dangerous men on the Internet, according to a recent McAfee report.
 | | Brad Pitt Most Dangerous Man On Internet |  |
Searching for "Brad Pitt," "Brad Pitt downloads," and Brad Pitt wallpaper, screen savers and pictures carries an 18 percent chance of contracting malware. Screen savers in particular are dangerous, with over half of the Websites returned in searches pegged by McAfee as having malicious downloads with spyware, adware, and viruses.
In recent years, Paris Hilton had been potentially the most infectious celeb, but was overtaken by Pitt this year as her popularity wanes. Britney Spears has also fallen off the list, replaced by ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. The most dangerous women celebs this year are Beyonce, Heidi Montag, and Mariah Carey.
"Cybercriminals employ numerous methods, yet one of the simplest but most effective ways is to trick consumers into infecting themselves by capitalizing on Americans' interest in celebrity gossip," said Jeff Green, Senior Vice President of McAfee's Product Development & Avert Labs.
"Tapping into current events, pop culture or commonly browsed sites is an easy way to achieve this. And because of Americans' obsession with following celebrities' lifestyles, they are an obvious target. We have to take precautions in casually navigating the Web since many subtle sites may be rife with malware for consumers' computers."
McAfee of course recommends its own SiteAdvisor site for testing URLs before visiting.
The list of most dangerous celebrities and most dangerous searches is as follows:
1. Brad Pitt - screensavers
2. Beyonce - especially ring tones
3. Justin Timberlake - downloads
4. Heidi Montag - wallpaper
5. Mariah Carey - screensavers
6. Jessica Alba - downloads
7. Lindsay Lohan - downloads
8. Cameron Diaz - images
9. George Clooney, Rihanna - George Clooney wallpaper, Rihanna pictures
11. Angelina Jolie - downloads, risky links
12. Fergie - screensavers
13. David Beckham, Katie Holmes - wallpaper and screensavers, screensavers
15. Katherine Heigl - pictures.
About the Author:
SecurityProNews is a daily online and email publication focusing on internet security issues.
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