Seven tips to stay protected from malicious sites

SANTA CLARA, USA: Cybercriminals consistently take advantage of consumer interest around award shows, new movies and TV shows as well as the latest cultural trends driven by celebrities.

These criminals capitalize on the public's fascination with celebrity to lure them to sites laden with malware that enables them to steal passwords and personal information. This year, searching for a celebrity name coupled with the search terms "free app download" and "nude pictures" resulted in the highest instances of malware-laden sites.

Here are few tips for security company McAfee to remain protected from malicisous websites:

• Beware of content that prompts you to download anything before providing you the content. You may want to opt to watch streaming videos or download content from official websites of content providers.

• "Free downloads" are significantly the highest virus-prone search term. Anyone searching for videos or files to download should be careful as not to unleash malware on their computer.

• Always use password protection on your phone and other mobile devices. If your phone is lost or stolen, anyone who picks up the device could publish your information online.

• Established news sites may not entice you with exclusives for one solid reason: there usually aren't any. Try to stick to official news sites that you trust for breaking news. However, trusted sites can also fall prey to hackers. Make sure to use a safe search tool that will notify you of risky sites or links before you visit them.

• Don't download videos from suspect sites. This should be common sense, but it bears repeating: 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. If a website offers an exclusive video for you to download, don't.

• Don't "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-credit card, email, home address, Facebook login, or other information-for access to an exclusive story, don't give it out. Such requests are a common tactic for phishing that could lead to identity theft.

• If you do decide to search for information on a major event or celebrity in the news, make sure your entire household's devices have protection, such as McAfee LiveSafe, which protects all devices from your PCs, Macs, and tablets to your smartphone. It also includes malware detection software, McAfee® Mobile Security, to protect your smartphone or tablet from all types of malware.

A complimentary version of SiteAdvisor software can be downloaded at www.siteadvisor.com.