Women more dangerous than men: The top 10 celebrity searches that infected PCs this year
Lily Collins is now the most dangerous celebrity to search for online in 2013. Knocking Emma Watson off the top spot, internet security company McAfee has found that a search for the actress yields a one in seven chance of ending up on a malicious site.
McAfee research found that searching for the latest Lily Collins pictures and downloads yields more than a 14.5% chance of landing on a website that has tested positive for online threats, such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses and other malware.
Fans searching for “Lily Collins and free downloads,” “Lily Collins and nude pictures,” “Lily Collins and fakes,” and “Lily Collins and free app download” are at risk of running into online threats designed to steal personal information.
For the second year in a row, women are more dangerous to search for than men, with McAfee's top 10 list featuring just one man – Mad Men's Jon Hamm.
Top 10 most dangerous celebrities to search for in the UK
| Position | Celebrity | Percentage |
| 1 | Lily Collins | 14.5% |
| 2 | Avril Lavigne | 12.7% |
| 3 | Sandra Bullock | 10.8% |
| 4 | Kathy Griffin | 10.6% |
| 5 | Zoe Saldana | 10.5% |
| 6 | Katy Perry | 10.4% |
| 7 | Britney Spears | 10.1% |
| =8 | Jon Hamm | 10.0% |
| =8 | Rita Ora | 10.0% |
| 10 | Adriana Lima | 9.9% |
McAfee have noted some other trends in dangerous celebrity searches:
The ‘Larry Stylinson’ effect?
Both Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles emerged as dangerous celebrities to search for, with 4.8% and 4.2% risk respectively. This could be linked tothe craze among their fans of “shipping Larry Stylinson”, where fans share art and fiction online based on the rumour that Harry and Louis are involved in a romance or bromance.Musicians sing their way to the top
Musicians, especially young female pop stars, are a draw for malware and risky websites. Seventeen musicians make the top 50 list, with fourof them ranking in the top ten: Avril Lavigne(No. 2), Katy Perry (No. 6), Britney Spears (No. 7) and Rita Ora (No. 8).Other musicians at play include: Shakira (No. 12), Justin Timberlake (No. 13), Selena Gomez (No. 15), Demi Lovato (No. 17), Miley Cyrus (No. 21), Rihanna (No. 29), Lady Gaga (No. 32), Beyonce (No. 36), and Mariah Carey (No. 50).Battle of the Kardashian-Wests
Searching for downloads of Kanye West (No. 23) is more risky than searching for his new Kardashian family: Kourtney Kardashian (No. 28), Kim Kardashian (No. 37), Khloe Kardashian (No. 38), and Kris Jenner (No. 40). Media mogul and TV host Ryan Seacrest, who came up with the concept for the Kardashians’ show, is hot on their heels at No. 42.From one year to another
Emma Watson, Jessica Biel, and Megan Fox have all dropped out of this year’s list (in 2012 they ranked No. 1, No. 2, and No. 6, respectively).
“We have got used to accessing the latest gossip and pictures of our favourite celebrities on demand,” commented Raj Samani, chief technical officer, McAfee EMEA,“But we need to remember that cybercriminals take advantage of the latest cultural trends, new movies and hit TV shows to target unsuspecting consumers seeking more information. These criminals want to lureus to unsafe sites that can severely infect computers and devices and even steal personal data.”