After a recent survey declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ‘Most Admired Man In India’ and retd. IPS officer Kiran Bedi as ‘Most Admired Woman’ for the year 2020, now comes another list of celebrities, whose online searches could put you at risk!
As per a report in India Today, a cybersecurity firm called McAfee put out the 14th edition list of the ‘Most Dangerous Celebrities’ in every country for the year 2020. It includes the names of those famous personalities who generate the most “dangerous” results when searched online. In other words, the search results of these celebrities are more likely to bring in potentially malicious content that exposes the user’s personal information and puts it at risk.
Footballer Christiano Ronaldo topped McAfee’s 2020 Most Dangerous Celebrities list in India.
Here are the top 10 celebrities that have made it to India’s list (in chronological order):-
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Christiano Ronaldo
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Tabu
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Taapsee Pannu
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Anushka Sharma
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Sonakshi Sinha
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Armaan Malik
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Sara Ali Khan
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Kangana Ranaut
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Divyanka Tripathi
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Shah Rukh Khan
Apart from Ronaldo who is representing sports, the rest of the names are from the Bollywood entertainment industry. They generate the riskiest search results online in India, due to various malicious websites and viruses linked to their names.
Venkat Krishnapur, who is McAfee India’s Vice President of engineering and managing director, released a statement explaining, “As consumers scout the web for free entertainment now more than ever, cybercriminals trail close behind, capitalizing on this interest. Unsuspecting users often look for free and pirated content such as major sports events, movies, TV shows along with images and leaked videos of their favorite celebs. Bad actors (cybercriminals) leverage consumers’ fascination with pop culture and drive unsuspecting fans to malicious websites that install malware on their devices, potentially putting personal information at risk.”
He continues, “When consumers compromise on security in favor of convenience and freebies, they put their digital lives at risk. It is vital that fans stay vigilant, avoid suspicious links that promise free content, and think twice before clicking.”
Hollywood actress Anna Kendrick, popularly known for her roles in movies like ‘Twilight’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’ topped McAfee’s 2020 Most Dangerous Celebrities list globally. Here are other famous personalities who made it to the list:-
In order to steer clear of such harmful links, McAfee recommends that fans should avoid visiting third-party websites, like that of illegal streaming, as it could potentially contain malware. Additionally, people should avoid downloading mp3 files as they often contain malware, Indian Express reports.
We hope that people stay safe and alert while looking up these famous names online. What do you think? Tell us!