Jessica Biel Could Give You a (PC) Virus

Quick, someone tell Justin Timberlake that his girlfriend Jessica Biel is dangerous - in cyberspace

The latest annual report from McAfee found that Biel is the biggest draw on the Internet for spyware, adware, malware, spam, phishing, and viruses. Search for her name online, and there's a one in five chance you'll catch something nasty.

This is the third year in a row McAfee has put together this list. In 2008, actor Brad Pitt took the dubious distinction of first place, with the same 20 percent chance of danger. He's since moved down the list to 10th place.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Quick, someone tell Justin Timberlake that his girlfriend Jessica Biel is dangerous - in cyberspace

The latest annual report from McAfee found that Biel is the biggest draw on the Internet for spyware, adware, malware, spam, phishing, and viruses. Search for her name online, and there's a one in five chance you'll catch something nasty.

This is the third year in a row McAfee has put together this list. In 2008, actor Brad Pitt took the dubious distinction of first place, with the same 20 percent chance of danger. He's since moved down the list to 10th place.

Meanwhile, singer and actress Beyonce held the number two spot for the second year in a row, making her the most common celebrity to appear in the top five. Other notable finds from McAfee include a 40 percent chance of getting a virus when searching for "Jennifer Aniston Screensavers" and links to red flagged sites when searching for "Gisele Bunchen Photos." Searching for Bunchen's husband, football star Tom Brady, can yield video downloads containing trojans.

Of course, the report itself is a lure for purchasing one of McAfee's products, all of which include SiteAdvisor technology to rank a site before it's even accessed. SiteAdvisor can also be downloaded for free as a stand-alone application.

Celebrity obsession turns Web surfers into easy targets. As pointed out last year by Techworld's John E. Dunn, the method of attacking people looking for celebrity ringtones, screensavers, pictures, and video hasn't really changed over the years, even as other virus and malware attacks get more sophisticated.

It's not just random Web sites, either. Earlier this year, fake celebrity profiles began appearing on the business networking site LinkedIn, with links to sites containing malware code.

In general, malware and virus distributors feed on whatever's likely to get the most attention. That's why earlier this year, we saw Swine Flu spam, and Virginia Tech shooting-related Trojans before that, preceeded by Hurricane Katrina scams and a SARS e-mail worm before that. But unlike those issues, which cause only spike in interest, our thirst for all things Jessica Biel, Beyonce and Brad Pitt is never going away.

For more PC news, visit PC World. Story copyright PC World Communications, Inc.