Chris Hemsworth, Adele among McAfee’s most dangerous celebrities

The world loves Australia’s Hemsworth brothers, and some savvy cybercrims are looking to exploit that love for their own gain.

Chris Hemsworth is the highest ranked Aussie on McAfee’s 2020 list of the ‘most dangerous celebrities’.

Aussie hunk Chris Hemsworth, singer Adele and actor Anna Kendrick are having their brands appropriated by cyber criminals exploiting celeb-starved internet users’ unquenchable thirst for content, according to cybersecurity company McAfee.

The company has just released its 2020 list of the “most dangerous celebrities”.

Searches for these celebs will bring up the usual news and profiles, but are also bringing up risky links that could be used to infect your devices.

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Adele’s weight loss has been the subject of curiosity online. Picture: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

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Adele’s major weight loss journey is thought to be the reason she’s topped the list this year, as increased searches to figure out her size-shredding secrets generated many “harmful links”.

Love Life star Anna Kendrick came in at second as people searched for pirated versions of her new show they could torrent that might also come laced with malware.

The revelation that musician Drake was “hiding a child” in 2018 garnered fresh interest when he revealed the first photos of his son earlier this year, which cybercriminals evidently sought to exploit.

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Chris Hemsworth is a regular feature in grammatically incorrect scam advertisements you may have seen on the internet.

Chris Hemsworth was the highest-ranking Australian at 13th most dangerous (his brother Liam was the highest ranked Aussie on the list last year at 19th).

He was followed by Dr Chris Brown at 14th, Cate Blanchett at 21st, Andy Lee at 40th, and Bindi Irwin at 41st.

“Consumers’ fascination with pop culture could be putting them at risk as cybercriminals hone in on increased searches for celebrity news and new release entertainment,” McAfee cyber safety ambassador Alex Merton-McCann said.

“Deceptive practices such as fake websites promising free content can lead unsuspecting consumers to malicious sites purpose-built to steal valuable, personal information or take over devices. Now more than ever, it is crucial consumers stay vigilant and always think before they click to protect their digital lives,” Ms Merton-McCann added.

In March, Drake shared the first public images of the child he was accused of ‘hiding’ from the world during a 2018 beef with rival Pusha T. Picture: Drake.

TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CELEBRITIES

• Adele

• Anna Kendrick

• Drake

• Cara Delevingne

• Charli D’Amelio

• Alicia Keys

• Avril Lavigne

• Benee

• Camila Cabello

• Beyonce

McAfee used Google’s developer console to analyse the results celebrity names brought up to identify the “most dangerous”, though the cybersecurity firm notes that being the “most dangerous” likely indicated the celebrity is just really popular.

Anna Kendrick’s new show Love Life began airing this year.

HOW TO STAY SAFE ONLINE

McAfee recommends the following tips to practice safe online behaviour:

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU CLICK

Users looking for new release music, TV shows and movies, as well as updates on their favourite celebrities, should be cautious and only click on links to reliable sources. The safest thing to do is to wait for official releases, leverage legitimate streaming platforms, and only visit reputable news sites, instead of clicking through to third-party websites that could contain malware.

REFRAIN FROM ILLEGAL STREAMING AND DOWNLOADING SUSPICIOUS FILES

Whether consumers prefer throwing it back to Alicia Keys’ greatest hits or rushing to stream Drake’s new album – it is important to only use legitimate music streaming platforms, even if they come at a cost. Many illegal downloads are riddled with malware or adware disguised as mp3 files.

PROTECT YOUR ONLINE SAFETY WITH A CYBERSECURITY SOLUTION Safeguard yourself from cybercriminals with a comprehensive security solution (McAfee obviously recommends its own Total Protection product), but there are a variety of products on the market that promise to help protect you from malware, phishing attacks, and other threats.

USE PARENTAL CONTROL SOFTWARE

Kids are fans of celebrities too, so ensure that limits are set for your child on their devices and use parental control software. This will help minimise exposure to potentially malicious or inappropriate websites when they search for the latest news on TikTok star, Charli D’Amelio or go to download the latest Benee track making waves on the app.