Innocent Google searches that lead to malware: Movies, TV shows, music and more
When I saw this malware report, I wanted to pass it along because hackers and scammers are no longer just going after adults. They’ve got a huge pot of gold for anyone looking for Sonic the Hedgehog, Taylor Swift or “Boss Baby.”
Innocent searches for movies, shows and celebrities are turning up awful results. A new study found the most common search terms to infect kids’ devices with malware. I admit even I was surprised by some of these.
Malware on film
What could go wrong when your kid searches for their favorite movie? Apparently, a lot. Even the search results for animated movies are a hot mess.
Home Security Heroes found over half of the search results for “The Boss Baby,” “Transylvania 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog” could contain malware. I’m willing to bet many of those lead to illegal download sites, just waiting to infect anything that comes its way.
TV shows are dicey, too: 47% of Google searches related to the “Pokémon” series raised a malware red flag. Searches for “Young Justice” and “Monster,” a Japanese anime series, had risky results of up to 45%.
The dark side of Hollywood
If your kids are searching for Anne Hathaway, Kaley Cuoco or Melissa McCarthy, you might want to supervise. Results for these lovely ladies had a jaw-dropping 75% chance of malware. I’ll let you guess who creeps are targeting here.
The most dangerous male actor to search for is (drumroll) Chris Hemsworth. If only Thor’s hammer were strong enough to send malware into another dimension … Neil Patrick Harris and Chris Pine were the second and third most dangerous searches.
Shake it off
If you and the kids are Swifties, beware. A crazy 79% of searches for Taylor Swift contained potential malware. Web searches for Ariana Grande and the Aussie-based band 5 Seconds of Summer also turned up tons of suspicious results. Duly noted.
Your to-do list
Google’s Dark Side: 5 search terms to avoid at all cost
Ever Google search for coupons or promo codes? You’ll probably waste 15 minutes putting in codes that don’t work. At worst, you’ll end up on a malware-infected site. Use these proven tricks to save money instead.
Streaming is expensive, so you might be tempted to look up free TV shows or movies. Don’t do it. There are seriously sketchy sites out there. I put together a list of ways to get free movies and shows you can trust.
You might be breaking the law online and not even know it
If you’ve ever uploaded a video to YouTube, you know how fast it will be flagged if there’s even a hint of a copyrighted song playing in the background.
If you’re shaking your head, you’re not alone. There are many things you shouldn’t do online. Some are just plain dangerous. Tap or click for five silly mistakes putting your online privacy and security at risk.
