Brett Lee and S Sreesanth heat up the charts at No. 2 and No. 3 positions respectively
India, 25th May, 2013 – McAfee unveiled results of its ‘India’s Most Dangerous Cricketer’ study which researched this season’s top celebrities of the cricketing world on their risk quotient in the Indian cyberspace. Christopher Henry ‘Chris’ Gayle, took the top slot, followed by Brett Lee and S Sreesanth; according to world’s largest dedicated security technology company McAfee.
Commenting on the findings of the study, Venkatasubrahmanyam Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering (CMSB), McAfee India Centre said, “Cyber criminals constantly leverage famous personalities and very cleverly time their attacks to coincide with popular events in luring people to websites with malicious software. In the context of the ongoing cricketing leagues, cyber crooks are leveraging famous cricketers for their nefarious gains. During such events, eager cricket crazy fans are highly motivated to search for photos, videos, score and stories of their favorite cricketers online and in that moment of weakness they are lured into clicking malicious links that puts them at considerable risk.”
Cybercriminals follow the latest trends, often using the names of popular celebrities to lure people to malicious sites designed to steal passwords and personal information. Fans looking for results on search engines using strings such as ‘name of cricketer’ combined with words like ‘free downloads’, ‘hot pictures’, ‘wallpapers’, and ‘videos’ are at risk of running themselves into malicious sites.
The study for ‘Most Dangerous IPL Player’ used the McAfee® SiteAdvisor® site rating which indicates the sites that are risky to search for cricketing celebrity names on the web and calculate an overall risk percentage. The top 10 cricketers with the highest risk scores in the Indian cyberspace are:
| Rank | Celebrity |
| 1 | Chris Gayle – The famous Jamaican player and former captain for the West Indies team, best known for his inimitable Gangnam style jig is ranked no. 1 with a total of 32 infected search results. |
| 2 | Brett Lee – The Smiling Assassin and one of the fastest bowlers, Brett Lee ranks 2nd with a total of 31 infected search results. |
| 3 | S Sreesanth – The all-rounder who has recently been in the news for spot fixing charges, ranks 3rd with 30 infected search results. |
| 4 | Yuvraj Singh, the famous Indian cricketer and cancer survivor, ranks as the 4th Most Dangerous cricketer with 29 infected search results. |
| 5 | David Miller, A powerful middle-order batsman and an outstanding fielder who smashed a 38-ball century in IPL 2013, is the 4th Most Dangerous cricketer with 28 infected search results. |
| 6 | Dale Steyn, South Africa’s express bowler ranks as the 6th most dangerous cricketer with 27 infected search results. |
| 7 | The 7th slot is a tie between two star batsmen – Kevin Pietersen and Kieron Pollard with 26 infected search results each. |
| 8 | Mitchell Johnson the 2009 winner of Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy & Rohit Sharma, who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket -both have 25 infected search results and hold the 8th position. |
| 9 | The charismatic Virat Kohli, captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup, is ranked the 9th most dangerous cricketer with 24 infected search results. |
| 10 | Last but definitely not the least, Sachin Tendulkar, the God of cricket who has recently taken a retirement from One Day cricket is the 10th Most Dangerous cricketer. |
Stay safe with McAfee Total Protection software while searching online
- Beware of content that prompts you to download anything before providing you content.
- Free downloads are significantly the highest virus-prone search terms. Anyone searching for videos or files to download should be careful as not to unleash malware on their computer.
- McAfee security experts urge consumers to surf safely by using McAfee Total Protection™ security software, a security suite that offers consumers anti-virus, anti-spyware, identity and firewall protection, and with SiteAdvisor, which displays red, yellow or green web safety ratings within Internet search results pages. It also blocks risky websites, adds anti-phishing protection, and helps users more safely surf, shop and bank online.
- A complimentary version of SiteAdvisor software can be downloaded at www.siteadvisor.com.
About McAfee SiteAdvisor technology
McAfee SiteAdvisor technology protects users from malicious websites and browser exploits. SiteAdvisor technology tests and rates nearly every trafficked site on the Internet and uses red, yellow and green icons to indicate the website’s risk level. SiteAdvisor site ratings are created by using patented advanced technology to conduct automated website tests SiteAdvisor software works with Internet Explorer and Firefox.
About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), empowers businesses, the public sector, and home users to safely experience the benefits of the Internet. The company delivers proactive and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world. With its Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique Global Threat Intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping its customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com
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