The recent Comic-con convention in California brought attention to comic book and fantasy heroes and characters.  Many people are fascinated by heroes such as Superman, Green Lantern and Batman.  But you should always remember that whatever fascinates large numbers of the public also sparks the interest of identity thieves who will set up phony websites and links on these websites that are traps for the unwary and can result in unwary Internet surfers downloading keystroke logging malware that can steal all of the information from your computer and make you a victim of identity theft.  Recently, security software company  McAfee released its list of the most dangerous superheroes of the Internet.  Hackers have used these heroes as lures to install viruses and malware on unsuspecting Internet searchers.  Surprisingly at the top of the list with 18.60% of searches resulting in tainted websites is DC superhero Aquaman, which is surprising as he doesn’t even have a movie.  Close behind Aquaman at 18.22% is Marvel Comics’ Mr. Fantastic.  The rest of the list in order is The Hulk, Wonder Woman, Daredevil, Iron Man, Superman, Thor, Green Lantern, Cyclops, Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Batman, Captain America and last, but not least your friendly neighborhood Spider Man who although only having 11.15% of tainted websites still poses a significant risk to the unwary.  Thus Aquaman is even more dangerous than the most dangerous woman on the Internet, Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame.  Internet searches of her lead you to tainted websites loaded with viruses and malware 12.5% of the time.

TIPS

Don’t click on links or download attachments unless you are absolutely sure that the sources is legitimate.  the risk is too great. Stick to legitimate websites with which you are familiar when looking for information about popular characters.  Make sure that your security software, anti-virus software and anti-malware software are up to date with the latest patches.