Searching for Priyanka Chopra? You need to read this

MUMBAI, INDIA: Now you better beware of clicking on third-party links and should access content directly from official websites of content providers. It's better to visit official sites to find content for your favorite celebrities and only download videos from well-known, legitimate sites.

Don’t download anything from a website you don’t trust — especially video. Most news clips you’d want to see can easily be found on official video sites and don’t require you to download anything.

Why?

Well, a latest update from Intel Security where it researched popular culture’s most famous people to reveal the riskiest personalities on the Web in the 2015 edition throws up new risk-patterns.

Cybercriminals keep a lookout for ways to take advantage of consumer interest around popular culture events including award shows, TV show premieres, film music launches, celebrity breakups, and more. Intel Security research found this year that almost 11.47 per cent of all links generated while evaluating the top ten celebrity names (coupled with search terms ‘Torrent’, ‘HD Download’, and ‘Free MP4’) led to malware ridden or suspicious sites.

Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, has replaced Alia Bhatt as Intel Security’s Most Sensational Celebrity to search for online in 2015. Commenting on the study findings, Venkat Krishnapur, Head of Intel Security Group- India Engineering Centre said, “Cybercriminals capitalize on consumer interest around popular culture by luring unsuspecting consumers to risky sites to steal sensitive personal data. At Intel Security, our endeavor is to educate and empower consumers to stay safe online. For the ninth consecutive year, our initiative highlights the problem of risky websites.”

Priyanka Chopra (no. 1), Shraddha Kapoor (no. 2), Jacqueline Fernandes (no. 4), Kangana Ranaut (no. 5), Deepika Padukone, Emran Hashmi as well as Sunny Leone (joint position - no. 7), Alia Bhatt (no. 8) and Kareena Kapoor (no. 10) feature in the top 10 list of Most Sensational Celebrities 2015 edition. Only four male celebrities made it to the top 10 list this year.

It advises users to apply caution when searching for “Torrent.” This term is by far the highest virus-prone search term. Consumers searching for videos or files through Torrent sites to download content should be careful as not to unleash unsafe content such as malware onto their computers.

Always use password protection on all mobile devices. If you don’t and your phone is lost or stolen, anyone who picks up the device could have access to your personal information online. It also recommends to not “log in” or provide other information. "If you receive a message, text or email or visit a third-party website that asks for your information— including your credit card, email, home address, Facebook login —to grant access to an exclusive story, don’t give it out. Such requests are a common tactic for phishing that could lead to identity theft." as advised in the update.