Jessica Biel named ‘Most Dangerous Cyberspace Celebrity’ in US

LONDON - Searching for Jessica Biel on the Internet could prove to be extremely risky for your computer, as she has been named America’s “Most Dangerous Celebrity In Cyberspace” by Internet researchers.

Computer protection company McAfee looked at popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo! in assessing the risk by clicking on celebrity-related website links.

The company has said that cybercriminals are using A-listers’ names and images to lure Internet users who surf the Web for the latest gossip, screen savers and ringtones to “fake” Web sites that look legitimate.

Such sites could be loaded with spyware collecting information about users without their knowledge, and viruses that can infiltrate computers, with the goal of making money and committing ID theft.

They found that Biel was the riskiest US celebrity target, with one in five celebrity websites related to her being potentially harmful.

Second in line as the most dangerous star in cyberspace is Beyonce, followed closely by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady at the third spot.

The survey found that more than 17 percent of websites and web links related to both these stars had some sort of risky content attached.

Jessica Simpson with 17.6 percent of dangerous content on websites dedicated to her stood at the fourth position, while Jennifer Aniston was fifth having 12.3 percent of online risky content to her credit.

“Cybercrooks capitalising on the public obsession with celebrities and current events is nothing new…” the Telegraph quoted Greg Day, McAfee’s principal security analyst, as saying.

He added: “A quick flick across the front pages of the latest popular newspapers and magazines offers a fairly reliable snapshot of where the criminals will focus their efforts next.”

Here are the top 10 ‘risky’ US celebrities and the percentage of websites related to them, which were found to be potentially harmful:

1. Jessica Biel - 20.1 per cent

2. Beyonce - 17.9

3. Tom Brady (New England Patriots quarterback) - 17.4

4. Jessica Simpson - 17.6

5. Jennifer Aniston - 12.3

6. Gisele Bundchen - 15.8

7. Miley Cyrus - 15.5

8. Megan Fox - 15.3

8. Angelina Jolie - 15.3

9. Ashley Tidsdale - 14.9

10. Brad Pitt - 14.8 (ANI)