Alia Bhatt tops as McAfee’s
Most Sensational Celebrity
McAfee’s annual study finds searching for
popular celebrities online can lead to identity theft.
In its eighth
edition this year, McAfee’s Most
Sensational Celebrity survey has found Bollywood’s Alia Bhatt topping
the charts in Indian cyberspace. As part of the program, McAfee researched
popular culture’s most famous people to reveal the riskiest celebrity across
the web and unveil the 2014 rendition of its ‘Most Sensational Celebrity’
research. Alia trumps Priyanka Chopra, who topped the list in
2013.
As cybercriminals
exploit consumers’ need to be updated on celebrity news, McAfee’s survey
highlights the pitfalls of the trend. These criminals capitalize on the
public’s fascination to lure them to sites loaded with malware, which in turn
allows them to steal passwords and personal information. This year,
searching for a ‘celebrity name’ coupled with search terms like ‘wallpaper’,
‘videos’, ‘free download’, ‘hot pictures’, ‘selfie’ and ‘internet memes’ have
resulted in instances of malware-laden sites.
Commenting on the findings
of the study, Venkat Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering- Consumer,
Business Group, McAfee India Centre, McAfee, Part of Intel Security said,
“By including the names of popular celebrities in a website's search tags,
consumers are completely unaware of the security risks that exist which can
severely infect their computers, devices and steal personal data. Cybercriminals
are consistently looking for ways to take advantage of consumer interest around
new movies, TV shows, as well as the latest celebrity-driven trends. For e.g.
the selfie craze that has gripped Bollywood, the ice bucket challenge videos or
internet memes created for sheer fun.”
The top 10
celebrities from this year’s study with the highest percentages of risk in
Indian cyberspace are:
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Rank
|
Celebrity
|
1
|
From ‘Student of the year’ to ‘Genius of the
year’, Alia Bhatt has
had the nation going crazy either with her movies, jokes and memes. She ranks 1st on
the India's Most Sensational Celebrity list with 81 infected search results.
|
2
|
Debuting the list at 2nd position
this year, Aamir Khan, whose upcoming movie PK’s poster went viral and
elicited a roaring response on social media. Known to be a perfectionist, he has 78 malicious sites
to his name.
|
3
|
Bollywood’s most popular actress on Twitter, Priyanka Chopra, the international star with her music career
and her awe-striking performance in 'Mary Kom’, ranks 3rd in
the list with 69 infected sites.
|
4
|
Sharing the 4th spot
are the King Khans of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan, who has made a splash with his ‘Happy New
Year’ promos and Salman Khan, who is enjoying the
success of his blockbuster movie ‘Kick’. They both share 64
malware infected search results to their name.
|
5
|
Named the most desirable woman, Katrina Kaif who sizzles in her movie ‘Bang
Bang’ with her moves stands at 5th position. With 63
malicious websites, her leaked photos with Ranbir Kapoor still make the
rounds of the internet.
|
6
|
Starring in last year’s romantic superhit film ‘Aashiqui 2’, Shradha Kapoor has been in the news for her
chemistry with ‘Haider’ co-star Shahid Kapoor. She
ranks 6th on the list, with 62 infected search results.
|
7
|
At 7th position
with 61 infected sites is Ranveer Singh, the master of antics, who is always grabbing eyeballs for his
product endorsements, alleged affair with Deepika Padukone and his famous
handlebar moustache.
|
8
|
This year’s much awaited movie’ ‘Happy New Year’ actress, Deepika Padukone, who has made headlines of her twitter
outburst, ranks 8th with 60 malicious sites.
|
9
|
Hrithik Roshan’s lover
boy looks and well chiselled body makes him a mass favourite. With his
popularity steadily increasing in cyber space for his movie - Bang
Bang dare challenge videos, he ranks 9th as the most
sensational celebrity online with 59 infected search results.
|
10
|
Ranking 10th is Sonakshi Sinha, who has shot a pop song ‘Desi Kalakaar’ with
rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. The `Dabangg’ girl has 58
malware-ridden websites to her name.
|
Actresses outnumber actors
in being potentially risky targets online:
Alia Bhatt (No.
1), Priyanka Chopra (No. 3), Katrina Kaif (No. 5), Shradha Kapoor (No. 6),
Deepika Padukone (No. 8) and Sonakshi Sinha (No. 10) list in the top 10 Most
Sensational Celebrity list.
From one year to another:
Kareena Kapoor,
Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar & Sunny Leone
have all dropped out of this year’s list (in 2013 they ranked No. 4, No. 5, No.
6, No. 7, No. 8, and No. 9 respectively).
How You Can Stay Protected?
- Beware of clicking on third party links: You should access content directly from official websites of content providers. For example, visit ABC.com to find Jimmy Kimmel’s latest episodes.
- Ensure you use web protection that will notify you of risky sites or links before you visit them. Stick to official news sites for breaking news.
- Don’t download videos from suspect sites: This should be common sense, but it bears repeating: don’t download anything from a website you don’t trust — especially video. Most news clips you’d want to see can easily be found on official video sites and don’t require you to download anything.
- “Free downloads” are by far the highest virus-prone search term: Anyone searching for videos or files to download should be careful as not to unleash unsafe content such as malware onto their computers.
- Always use password protection on your phone and other mobile devices: If you don’t and your phone is lost or stolen, anyone who picks up the device could have access to your personal information online.
- Don’t “log in” or provide other information: If you receive a message, text or email or visit a third-party website that asks for your information—credit card, email, home address, Facebook login, or other information—to grant access to an exclusive story, don’t give it out. Such requests are a common tactic for phishing that could lead to identity theft.
- Search online using a tool, such as SiteAdvisor software, which protects users from malicious websites and browser exploits. A complimentary version of SiteAdvisor software can be downloaded at www.siteadvisor.com.
- Web surfers can also visit the McAfee Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mcafee and McAfee Security Advice Center for information on the latest consumer threats, and tips for living safe online.
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