Beware of Celebrity Searching

Posted on 26 August, 2009 Written by Search Sherpa

It’s that time of year again.

Actress Jessica Biel arrives at the 3rd Annual Pink Party at the

McAfee’s annual report on the most dangerous celebrities to search for is out. To be succinct, searching for a celebrity can be extremely hazardous to your computer these days.

To quote McAfee:

“Fans searching for “Jessica Biel” or “Jessica Biel downloads,” “Jessica Biel wallpaper,” “Jessica Biel screen savers,” “Jessica Biel photos” and “Jessica Biel videos” have a one in five chance of landing at a Web site that’s tested positive for online threats, such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing, viruses and other malware.”

I was curious about the volume of monthly searches on her so I checked it out via the Google keyword tool and she’s apparently only searched on a little less than two million times a month. Jessica Alba at 5 million and Jessica Simpson at 6 million beat her out in terms of volume, but not in online danger.

Last years most dangerous, Brad Pitt, cooled off and fell to #10. Here’s the full list:

Here’s the full top ten, according to McAfee’s study:

  1. Jessica Biel
  2. Beyoncé
  3. Jennifer Aniston
  4. Tom Brady
  5. Jessica Simpson
  6. Gisele Bundchen
  7. Miley Cyrus
  8. Megan Fox & Angelina Jolie (tie)
  9. Ashley Tisdale
  10. Brad Pitt

If you’re curious, like me, about the most dangerous search terms overall, here’s the PDF report from McAfee on that. Enjoy.

comment