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Avril Lavigne may have peaked in popularity during the early parts of the 2000s, but the Sk8terboi singer remains highly popular among hackers: She topped McAfee Inc.’s annual list of the Most Dangerous Celebrities, a list that indexes celebrity-themed malicious websites.
The list, now in its 11th year, indexes malicious websites using celebrities to attract web browsers to visit them. Malicious sites using celebrities to gain visitors can be used for various nefarious purposes, including malware installation, theft of personal information and passwords.
In an age where Silicon Valley is obsessed with gender diversity, hackers have shown that they are more open to embracing equality and bringing down the “patriarchy” than others in the broader tech community, with Lavigne becoming the first female musician to top the Most Dangerous Celebrities study. Embracing racial diversity, hackers put singer Bruno Mars second, followed in order by Carly Rae Jepsen, Zayn Malik, Celine Dion, Calvin Harris, Justin Bieber, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Katy Perry and Beyonce.
Comedian Amy Schumer had topped the list in 2016.
There wasn’t a lot of space between the first and 10th positions, with about 14.5 percent of all Google searches for Lavigne delivering a malicious webpage and a small fraction over 12 percent of results doing likewise for Beyonce.
“In today’s digital world, we want the latest hit albums, videos, movies and more, immediately available on our devices,” Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist at McAfee, said in a statement. “Consumers often prioritize their convenience over security by engaging in risky behavior like clicking on suspicious links that promise the latest content from celebrities. It’s imperative that they slow down and consider the risks associated with searching for downloadable content. Thinking before clicking goes a long way to stay safe online.”
Fans searching for celebrity sites are warned, as always, to practice safe Internet, in particular running antivirus software and being careful what they click on. MP3 music sites were specifically called out, with McAfee warning that searches for the term “free MP3” returned the highest number of risky websites.
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