Celeb names are a danger in cyberspace

Brad Pitt has overtaken Paris Hilton as the most dangerous celebrity to search for in cyberspace. Fans searching for Pitt wallpaper, screen and pictures were shown to have an 18 per cent chance of having their PCs infected with online threats, such as spyware, viruses and malware.

Cybercriminals, according to research by McAfee, are using A-listers' names and images to lure users who surf for the latest gossip, screensavers and ringtones to "fake" websites that look legitimate. The report said actors Brad Pitt and Justin Timberlake were the most dangerous men to seek, while Beyoncé and Heidi Montag top the list for women.

These findings are interesting for anyone with a desire to know all that's going on in the lives of the rich and famous but also highlight how social engineering continues to be the top tactic deployed by people wishing to trick others into opening infected attachments and downloading malware files.

It's a simple trick but one that is easy to fall for if you're not expecting it.

Of course, social engineering, the art of tricking people into doing something by dressing it up as something else, is nothing new. In February 2001, in one of the biggest examples of celebrity-based social engineering yet witnessed, the Anna Kournikova virus hit email inboxes.

This internet-based worm really showed how celebrity interest could be used to create as much of a stir as possible. So what does this really mean? Well whether celebrities, sport or politics are a personal passion, the internet is an incredible source of information. All these topics have been used by cyber-crime perpetrators to achieve their goals but that doesn't mean the internet has to cease being the preferred source for the latest stories and pictures.

What this does mean is that some consideration is required before clicking to open files, or giving away information requested. It can be hard to say from looking at a website whether it is legitimate, but there are programs which evaluate the reputation of a site when searching for a topic, giving it a red, amber or green rating, depending on its safety. Traditional security tools will also help to protect you, alerting you to any malicious files when you try to open them.

The author is regional director of McAfee Middle East