Emma Watson, most dangerous girl on the web
Nope, it has nothing to do with the spells she cast as Harry Potter's ally, but Emma Watson is turning out to be the "most dangerous" celebrity on the Web.
A tech site said that web searches for Watson who plays Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" series of films run a 12-percent risk of being infected with malware.
Searches for other celebrities that may run the risk of malware infection include:
- Jessica Biel
- Selena Gomez
- Halle Berry
- Megan Fox
- Shakira
- Cameron Diaz
- Salma Hayek
- Sofia Vergara
Biel and Diaz also made the list in 2011. PC World said Biel topped the list in 2009 and Diaz led the pack in 2010.
On the other hand, PC World said this was the first time male celebrities were shut out of the list that McAfee started compiling since 2006.
"In fact, the only male presence inside McAfee's top 20 was talk show host Jimmy Kimmel," it said.
PC World also noted recently divorced celebrities Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and Twilight stars and real-life couple Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were not on the list, despite being in the news.
Malicious sites
PC World said cybercriminals use promises of lascivious photos or scandalous news about celebrities to lure users to malicious websites that host spyware, adware, viruses, or phishing attempts.
PC World said McAfee also advised users to be wary about sites offering celebrity scandal.
"Your best bet is to stick to well-known sites from established organizations that promote the latest Hollywood ! gossip," it said.
It particularly warned of "double dot-coms" where a genuine-looking URL may be part of a different domain, such as US Magazine actually being a fake site, USMagazine.com.xyz.com.
"Beyond using common sense, you should also make sure your computer has the latest updates for your operating system, and, especially on Windows, run security software such as Microsoft's free Windows Defender," it said. TJD, GMA News