The most dangerous celebrity on the internet revealed

GOOGLE searching for singer Avril Lavigne could land you in a lot of trouble, according to Mcafee’s latest list of the biggest cyber threats.

One-time pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne has beaten superstar Beyonce at something. Picture: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

ONE-TIME pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne has beaten superstar Beyonce at something, but she may not be totally happy with her victory — she’s been named the most dangerous celebrity on the internet.

Cybersecurity firm McAfee has revealed that Lavigne, whose last album came out in 2013, was the most likely celebrity to land users on websites that carry viruses or malware.

Searches for Lavigne have a 14.5 per cent chance of landing on a web page with the potential for online threats, a number that increases to 22 per cent if users type her name and search for free MP3s.

Avril Lavigne has been named the most dangerous celebrity on the internet. Picture: John Parra/Getty Images for Clear Channel

Bruno Mars was second in his debut on the list, followed closely behind by Carly Rae Jepsen. Zayn Malik (No. 4), Celine Dion (No. 5), Calvin Harris (No. 6), Justin Bieber (No. 7), Sean “Diddy” Combs (No. 8), Katy Perry (No. 9) and Beyonce (No. 10) rounded out the top 10 list.

It’s a dubious step up for Lavigne, who was ranked No. 2 in 2013.

Carly Rae Jepsen is the second most dangerous celebrity on the internet. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images/AFP

Megastar Beyonce rounded out cybersecurity firm McAfee’s top 10 most dangerous list. Picture: AFP/Robyn Beck

Lavigne, whose hits include Sk8er Boi, Complicated and I’m With You, has been out of the spotlight for several years as she battles Lyme disease.

She was previously married to Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger and Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley.

Avril Lavigne was married to widely ridiculed rocker Chad Kroeger. Picture: Jag Gundu/Getty Images

McAfee had a few suggestions for why Lavigne scored so high on the 11th annual list: interest after the artist said she’s working on a new album, a feature story on her by E! Online and an internet conspiracy that she has been replaced by an impostor.

Lavigne is the first female musician to take the No. 1 spot and replaced Amy Schumer, named the most dangerous celebrity on the internet in 2016. In 2015, it was Dutch trance DJ Armin van Buuren.

Avril Lavigne replaced actress Amy Schumer. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren topped the 2015 list. Picture: AFP/Getty/Aaron Davidson

The survey is meant to highlight the danger of clicking on suspicious links. McAfee urges internet users to consider risks associated with searching for downloadable content.

The company used its own site ratings to compile the celebrity list and used searches on Google, Bing and Yahoo.