Curious why Google searches for “Is Prime Day a scam?” skyrocketed by 300% in just 24 hours? Here’s the scoop.
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
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I’m sure you’ve heard this story in the news. A Utah mom, Kouri Richins, was arrested last month. Police allege she killed her husband by poisoning him with fentanyl … before she wrote a children’s book about grief.
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We’ve written a lot of articles about Google searches and online databases. Our online safety is important, and much of that comes down to regulating our searches and learning how to protect ourselves. Tap or click here for seven things to never search for on Google.
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You might laugh thinking about all the random Google searches you’ve done over the years. Imagine someone getting access to that list, and you might instead shudder in embarrassment.
Did you know your entire Google history is accessible online? If you’re signed in, a snoop can poke through it all. Tap or click here for steps to password protect that page and your private info.