Amy Schumer, Justin Bieber lead the list of most 'dangerous' celebrities

Googling celebrities is a fun activity for many of us, but it can bring danger as well!

Actress and comedian Amy Schumer has been named as the most 'dangerous'  celebrity to search for online in 2016.

Intel Security announced the results of its annual McAfee Most Dangerous Celebrities earlier this week which identifies top threats. Using popular search terms such as "torrent" or "HD download," the study searches for celebrities and browses celebrity-related pages. The name with the maximum malware and virus threats comes on top - and this year it was the feisty and no-holds-barred Amy Schumer.

Searching for Schumer brought the users a 16.11 percent chance in hitting upon a website with virus or malware. Following close behind is Justin Bieber with 15 percent, with other stars in the top 5 being Carson Daly(13.44 percent), Will Smith (13.44 percent) and finally Rihanna (13.33 percent).

McAfee said Schumer grabbing the top honors wasn't a surprise given her meteoric rise in recent times.

"Her comedy series Inside Amy Schumer is the winner of a Peabody award, her memoir "The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo" was released in August, and she's currently on her first world tour. Simply put: people can't get enough of her sassy jokes, making her a prime target for cybercriminals who want to capitalize on her popularity," said Intel's chief consumer security evangelist Gary Davis

Davis ties the use of celebrities to send out virus to two reasons: people are looking for fresh gossip and may visit random websites which might be infested with malware, and the other is convenience with people wanting to use unofficial sources for viewing content.

"With this craving for real-time information, many search and click without considering potential security risks. Cybercriminals know this and take advantage of this behavior by attempting to lead them to unsafe sites loaded with malware," said Davis.

He has said that people can remain protected by going to only original sources for content, be careful of file downloads and ensure adequate protection while browsing.