De Niro Is Dangerous–Not in the Way You May Think

(June 8, 2022)  What do Robert De Niro, Kate Winslet, Finding Dory, Breaking Bad, Billie Eilish, and Lovely Bones all have in common?

Wait! Before doing an online search for the answer, read on to keep you out of the danger zone. All the terms are number one in their categories to contain potential malware, according to Surfshark, a Netherlands-based company that offers VPN and other online security services.

   “To give internet users the best chance at protecting themselves from falling into the cyberattack trap, Surfshark has discovered which pop culture search terms are the most dangerous to search for online – from celebrity names to TV shows,” the company said. It did this by compiling a list of the most popular search terms across a variety of pop culture categories. The company then input the terms into Google with different qualifiers. The top five pages were then run through a malware detector program. The result was a listing showing the malware percentage associated with the search term.

Surfshark noted that hackers attach malware to search terms that are most likely to get traffic and attract users who take online actions like clicking on download links.

The categories Surfshark audited were male actors, female actors, movies, TV shows, anime, books, games, musicians, and songs. Here are some of the results:

• Male Actors: De Niro was the most dangerous with 54.1 percent of results including potential malware, Jake Gyllenhaal was second with 53.6 percent, and Tom Hanks was fourth with a 51.6 percent malware potential.
• Female Actors: Winslet was the most dangerous with 52.6 percent potential malware score, Margot Robbie second with 52 percent, Sandra Bullock fourth with 49 percent, and Faye Dunaway eighth with 46.8 percent.
• Movies: Finding Dory was first with 46.7 percent, Beauty and the Beast came in second with 44.9 percent, and Toy Story 3 was fifth with 40.4 percent.
• TV Shows: Breaking Bad ranked first with 39.6 percent, Emily in Paris was third with 38.8 percent, and Bridgerton was seventh with 36.7 percent.
• Books: Lovely Bones was the most dangerous with 49 percent, Breaking Dawn was fourth with 46.3 percent, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was tenth with 45.4 percent.

The full report can be accessed here.

As part of the report, Surfshark recommended that users:

• Stick to trusted sources
• Avoid clicking on HTTP websites
• Keep browsers up to date
• Use a reputable adblocker to stop malicious software
• Consider using an antivirus.