Searching For celebrities leads to riskiest malicious websites

Hyderabad: Cybercriminals set their work easy now, as a person searching for celebrities online leads him to riskiest malicious websites. Actress Ileana D'Cruz is the riskiest celebrity to search online. The research by Mcafee revealed that from Priyanka Chopra to Rishi Kapoor, celebrities in the top 10 include Bollywood A-listers such as Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra. All these stars generate riskiest search results that could potentially expose their fans to malicious websites.

 Kapil Sharma was the most sensational celebrity to search for online last year. 

As the survey conducted by McAfee, highlights the dangers of clicking on suspicious links when searching for celebrity-focused content. McAfee utilised the Google API Console to search for popular mobile, PC and platform games coupled with search modifying terms. 

These celebrities are popular search subjects with search terms used being “Torrent,” “Free torrent,” “Sex tape” and “Free pics.”

Actors Preity Zinta, Tabu, Kriti Sanon and Akshay Kumar are among the top 5 actors in Mcafee' study which highlights the dangers of clicking on suspicious links when searching for celebrity-focused content. Cybercriminals try to use the appeal of celebrity to trick gullible customers into visiting malicious websites which can be used to install malware or steal personal information and passwords. 

So it is imperative to be careful on what you click, especially users looking for latest movies of Ileana D'Cruz should be cautious and only download directly from a reliable source.

In a press statement  McAfee Managing Director Mr Venkat Krishnapur, said, “While fans religiously track their icons, online security is often compromised over speed and convenience.” 

Cyber criminals leverage this opportunity to lure unsuspicious users by directing them to malicious links that could be used to infect devices or steal identities, he said. 

“As a precaution, consumers need to think before they click and avoid suspicious links that promise free content featuring favourite celebrities, movies, TV shows or pictures to protect themselves from cyber fraud,” he added.