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Brad Pitt one of the Most Dangerous Celebrities in Cyberspace: McAfee

McAfee’s Latest Research Names Hollywood’s Most Celebrated Dad Brad Pitt as Riskiest Celebrity to Search for on the Web

Mumbai, September 18, 2008: Brad Pitt has overtaken Paris Hilton as the most dangerous celebrity to search for in cyberspace according to Internet security company McAfee. For the second year running, McAfee entered the glamorous world of Hollywood to reveal the riskiest celebrities in cyberspace.

Checking in on your famous friends is not only a guilty pleasure, but seriously dangerous for your PC. Fans searching for “Brad Pitt,” “Brad Pitt downloads,” and Brad Pitt wallpaper, screen savers and pictures have an 18% chance of having their PCs infected with online threats, such as spyware, spam, phishing, adware, viruses and other malware.

Cybercriminals are using A-listers’ names and images, like Beyonce and Justin Timberlake, to lure Internet users who surf the Web for the latest gossip, screen savers and ringtones to “fake” Web sites that look legitimate.

Actors Brad Pitt and Justin Timberlake are the most dangerous men to seek on the Internet, while Beyonce and Heidi Montag top the list for women.Paris Hilton, who topped 2007’s most dangerous celebrities, is noticeably absent from this year’s list. Also absent is Britney Spears who was ranked #4 in 2007.

In their second annual report, McAfee compiled the list, using the McAfee®SiteAdvisor® technology, of Hollywood celebrity names that produce the largest number of risky sites when searched for on the Web. The list includes:

Position Celebrity 

1.       Brad Pitt – When “Brad Pitt screensavers” was searched, more than half of the resulting  

             Web sites were identified as containing malicious downloads with spyware, adware and

             potential viruses.

2.       Beyonce – Inputting “Beyonce ringtones” into a search engine yields risky Web sites that

             promote misleading offers to gather consumers’ personal information. 

3.       Justin Timberlake – Interest in his high-profile relationships makes him an easy target for

             spammers and hackers. When searching for “Justin Timberlake downloads” one Web

             site dvertised free music downloads that were flagged as directly leading to spam,  

             spyware and adware. 

4.       Heidi Montag – “The Hills” star is a popular search term when it comes to searching for 
5.       wallpaper. A host of  wallpaper Web sites contained hundreds of malware-laden downloads.   Mariah Carey – Spammers and hackers are using Mariah Carey screen saver Web sites to
             link to other sites proven to contain spyware, adware and other threatening downloads.
6.       Jessica Alba – Red-ranked risky sites were identified when searching for “Jessica Alba” and  
             “Jessica Alba downloads.” The sites contained hundreds of malicious downloads, links
             to other bad sites, misleading offers to gather information, and a high number of spam 
             emails when an email address was provided.
7.       Lindsay Lohan – This young Hollywood starlet is as dangerous to search online as she is  
             famous. Searching for “Lindsay Lohan downloads” resulted in several dangerous Web
             sites laden with hidden adware. 
8.       Cameron Diaz – Cybercriminals use download Web sites related to Cameron Diaz’s image to
             link to other harmful sites containing spyware.
9.       George Clooney, Rihanna – The technology found one Web site embedded with hundreds of 
             dangerous wallpaper and photo downloads after inputting “George Clooney downloads.”  
             “Rihanna pictures” was also a risky search term, as McAfee identified a site that spammed
              its test email address.
11     Angelina Jolie – When “Angelina Jolie downloads” was  searched, the software highlighted 
             a risky site with 978 hidden malware-infected wallpaper and photo downloads, as
             well as links to other potentially dangerous URLs.
12  Fergie – A Fergie screen saver site was flagged as offering 111 risky downloads that could 
             seriously compromise a PC’s privacy with unwanted spyware and adware.
13     David Beckham, Katie Holmes – The “David Beckham” search term generated a great deal of wallpaper and screen saver downloads veiled with malware. Consumers should also   
             exercise caution when searching for “Katie Holmes” online – one download site advertised 
             free screen savers that, if downloaded, would infect your computer with malicious
             programs like spyware. 
15     Katherine Heigl – Hollywood’s big headliner in recent years is now susceptible to Internet 
 lurkers too. “Katherine Heigl” was searched and a site was identified containing  hundreds of   
 malware-infected pictures.
“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.”