Photo: BEImages/Matt Baron.Does this look like the face of Internet evil? Don't be fooled by that boyish grin. Jimmy Kimmel is here to destroy your computer with malware, pop-ups, and Nigerian prince scams. October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which means that the annual rankings are out of the most dangerous celebrities to Google (or Bing, Ask Jeeves, Alta Vista, etc. — cyber security breaches are search engine-blind).
This year's crop of hazardous celebs is actually kind of surprising. Last year, Lily Collins topped the list, and the Kardashian Krew also hovered near the top. McAfee, which releases the rankings, notes that as Kim & Ko's danger waned, that of Jay Z and JWoww rose. Sick burn from an Internet security company.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
This year, Jimmy Kimmel is the number one threat to your browser. A search for "Jimmy Kimmel pictures" or "Jimmy Kimmel videos" has a one in five chance of yielding a result that's tested positive for online threats like adware, spam, viruses, malware, phishing, and spyware. Here are the rest of the top 10 most dangerous celebrities to search for online according to McAfee:
1. Jimmy Kimmel
2. Armin van Buuren
3. Ciara
4. Flo Rida
5. Bruce Springsteen
6. Blake Shelton
7. Britney Spears
8. Jon Bon Jovi
9. Chelsea Handler
10. Christina Aguilera
So, what's an Internet user who just wants to watch some celebrities reading mean tweets to do? Be wary of third-party links. If you want to watch a Kimmel video, visit the show's website or YouTube channel. Don't torrent anything — "free [insert name of show/movie/clip here] downloads" is the most virus-prone search term. Use a browser extension like SiteAdvisor, which screens URLs before loading them. Never log in to a third-party site that prompts you to enter your email, credit card, Facebook password, etc.
Go forth and Google with caution, friends.