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While stories of Katie Price’s love life dominate the pages of the tabloid press, searching for her online could mean bad news for your computer.
According to McAfee, the glamour model-turned-reality TV star tops its list of the most dangerous UK celebrities to look up online. Search results carry a 16.3 per cent risk, meaning that one in six results leads to a website loaded with malware, spyware or viruses.
Actor Jude Law comes second in the list, with a 15.4 per cent rating, while Victoria Beckham is at number three, with 13.6 per cent. Even the Royal Family isn’t safe – Prince Harry ranks 14th in McAfee’s list, with a risk factor of 6.2 per cent.
Despite their apparently high risk ratings, only Price and Law would make it into a top ten that includes US celebrities. Web links for actress Jessica Biel carry a 20.1 per cent risk, beating actor Brad Pitt – last year’s most dangerous celebrity to search for – to the top spot. Pitt, at number ten in this year’s US list, was found to have a risk factor of 14.8 per cent.
“Cybercrooks capitalising on the public obsession with celebrities and current events is nothing new. Week in, week out, we see online scams linked in to dodgy emails, websites and Twitter updates, which are closely linked to the latest celebrity gossip and high-profile news stories,” Greg Day, principal security analyst for EMEA at McAfee, said. “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.”
