Gadgetwise Blog: The Most Dangerous Celebrities on the Web

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Heidi Klum is a Victorias Secret model and the host of the hit reality-TV show Project Runway. But her admirers should beware: Searching online for her name with terms like hot pictures and free downloads can bring a cold shower.

Ms. Klum is this years most dangerous celebrity to search for on the Web, according to the security software company McAfee, a unit of Intel. Clicking on links promising sexy pictures or videos of her comes with a nearly one-in-10 chance of contracting a bad case of spyware, adware, phishing scams or other malware. The study uses data from McAfees free SiteAdvisor product, a tool for the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers that protects users from malicious Web sites.

Cybercriminals often take advantage of peoples interest in celebrities to trick them to visit sites that will automatically deposit malware on their PCs.

Security software suites often include browser add-ons that check links that you click on and that use icons to indicate sketchy links on search results pages. Some of these browser tools, like McAfees SiteAdvisor and AVGs LinkScanner, are available free to anyone.

Hackers aim to infect as many people as possible, so their choice of which celebrities to use as lures are a kind of dark measure of online star power and a sign of who the easy targets are.

Men, you are clearly the marks. Ms. Klum unseated 2010s Most Dangerous Celebrity, the actress Cameron Diaz, who dropped to No. 2. Women dominated the lists top 10 and included Jessica Biel, Katherine Heigl, Mila Kunis, Anna Paquin, Adriana Lima and Scarlett Johansson.

The only male celebrities in the top 10 were the CNN host Piers Morgan, who shockingly enough took the No. 3 spot, and the actor and heartthrob Brad Pitt, who tied for No. 10 with the actresses Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams.

Interestingly, curiosity about sports stars and singers was a lot safer to indulge in. The tennis players Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick dropped to No. 44 and No. 56, respectively, on this years list, from Nos. 13 and 14 last year. The siinger Justin Bieber was No. 49, Rihanna and Carrie Underwood were tied at No. 51, and Lady Gaga trailed at No. 58.

And despite enormous publicity, the bad boys Charlie Sheen and Tiger Woods were not considered dangerous by McAfee. Male antics was not something that was targeted, said Gary J. Davis, director of consumer marketing.

Indeed, you could say they were embraced.