US comedian Jimmy Kimmel has been named the most dangerous celebrity to search for online, by security company McAfee.
But in the UK the firm warned at searching for Cheryl Fernandez-Versini – aka X-factor judge Cheryl Cole was likely to contain links to malevolent links.
Celebrity names are used to to hook users by adding the words "video" and "picture" along with the name of the celebrity.
According to McAfee’s eighth annual ‘McAfee Most Dangerous Celebrities’ study, users searching for Jimmy Kimmel had 19.38% chance of landing on websites containing online threats, such as spam, virus, spyware, adware, phishing and other malware.
Kimmel was followed by DJ and music producer Armin van Buuren with 19.33% and singer Ciara on the third spot with 19.31% of search result showing malicious pages.
The list included other celebrities like Flo Rida with 18.89%, Britney Spears 18.19%, Jon Bon Jovi 17.64% and Christina Aguilera 16.67%.
McAfee said that cyber criminals are trying to exploit consumer interest in entertainment and pop culture by redirecting unsuspected users to websites that contain malware, which could be used to steal user information.
McAfee chief privacy officer Michelle Dennedy said: "Celebrity names coupled with the terms ‘video’ and ‘picture’ are some of the most-searched terms on the Internet.
"Cybercriminals exploit consumers’ need to be updated on celebrity news, leading them to sites that can harm their devices and compromise personal data.
"We want to ensure we’re equipping consumers with the knowledge they need to keep both themselves and their devices safe."
The firm has advised users not to click on links that lead tothird party sites, and to avoid downloading of videos from unauthorized sites.
