Katrina Kaif ‘most dangerous’ celebrity in cyber space

Mumbai: Katrina Kaif could be a heartthrob of millions but she has also earned herself a sobriquet of being the `most dangerous Indian celebrity` as the cyber criminals are using her name as a favourite key word that exposes computers to malicious software.

The beauteous actress has emerged as the most dangerous celebrity in the Indian cyber space for year 2011, according to a report by the internet security company McAfee. Fans looking for results on search engines using strings such as `name of celebrity` combined with words like `free downloads`, `hot pictures`, `screen savers`, and `videos` are at a risk of running themselves into websites with malicious software and online threats. McAfee researched popular culture`s most famous people to reveal the riskiest celebrity sportsmen, actors and politicians across the web to pick up the `most dangerous Indian celebrity.` According to the report, Katrina is on top among the most dangerous celebrity-related key words in the Indian cyber space that expose computers to malicious software, leaving behind Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor. "In a celebrity crazy country like India, cyber criminals find it very lucrative to use the names of popular figures as keywords to lure people to websites with malicious software. This year`s study found movie stars top the most dangerous list, while sports stars and politicians are among the safest," Venkatasubrahmanyam Krishnapur, Senior Director, McAfee India, said in a statement. There is 10.26 percent possibility that the name of the British Indian actress and former model could lead the users to a risky web site, the report says. The list of `dangerous celebrities` includes actors Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan. PTI