The 10 Most Dangerous Women Online

Introduction

Computer security company McAfee earlier this week released its 2012 list of the "10 Most Dangerous Celebrities" online. Fortunately for the world's media outlets, all were attractive women. Designation as a "Most Dangerous Celebrity" doesn't mean that a starlet is a threat to small children and domestic animals. Rather, it means that <a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/2103-hackers-trending-topics-attack.html">online searches</a> for that person will often turn up links to scams, false information and malware in the form of "<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1876-driveby-download-definition.html">drive-by downloads</a>" that can immediately infect an unprotected computer. "In today's celebrity culture, consumers expect to be able to go online to catch up with the latest photos, videos, tweets and stories about their favorite celebrities," said McAfee director of Web security research Paula Greve <a href="http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/news/2012/q3/20120910-01.aspx?cid=110907" target="_blank">in a statement</a>. "Due to the richness of the data and the high interaction, oftentimes consumers forget the risks that they are taking by clicking on the links." You can read more about the technical details of the Most Dangerous List in <a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/2252-emma-watson-most-dangerous-celebrity.html">our story from Monday</a>. But if you'd like to see who they are, click "Next."

Sofia Vergara

This raven-haired breakout star from the ABC sitcom "Modern Family" is the second-biggest thing to ever come out of Barranquilla, Colombia. (The biggest thing is No. 7 in this countdown.) Vergara, 40, has a 20-year-old son with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3D21FA69B4C8260A" target="_blank">his own YouTube</a> series about life with a glamorous but often goofy single mom. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/2151-8-security-basics.html">8 Security Basics the Experts Want You to Know</a>]

Salma Hayek

The petite Mexico-born actress, 46, got her start in Mexican soap operas but quickly made the jump to Hollywood. She got wide acclaim for "Frida," her 2002 biopic of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, but is even more famous for being ridiculously good-looking well into middle age. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/2061-facebook-security-quiz.html">Facebook Security Quiz: Are You Safe?</a>]

Cameron Diaz

The willowy blonde from Southern California, 40, known for playing charming ditzes in "Charlie's Angels" and in many romantic comedies, is equally famous for dating high-profile men such as singer/actor Justin Timberlake and New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez. She was 2010's No. 1 Most Dangerous Celebrity. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1932-11-facebook-privacy-steps.html">11 Facebook Privacy Steps to Take Now</a>]

Shakira

Like No. 10 Sofia Vergara, singer Shakira is from Barranquilla, Colombia, and like No. 9 Salma Hayek, she's of Lebanese descent, incorporating Middle Eastern influences into her music and onstage dancing. Shakira, 35, put out her first record when she was 13, hit it big in the U.S. Spanish-language market in 1998 and finally crossed over to the English-language pop charts in 2001. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1645-smartphone-social-privacy-settings.html">How to Set Your Smartphone's Social Privacy Settings</a>]

Megan Fox

This Tennessee-born actress broke out big with the first "Transformers" movie in 2007, but ended up being dropped from the third installment in the series after conflicts with director Michael Bay. Fox, 26, is married to former "Beverly Hills 90210" star Brian Austin Green and is pregnant with the couple's first child. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/signs-pc-infected-1513/">Five Signs Your PC Is Infected</a>]

Halle Berry

Score another for the over-40 set! The Cleveland native, 46, got her start in beauty pageants and within a few years was on the TV drama "Knots Landing." She's played a crack addict, a James Bond love interest and Catwoman, won a Best Actress Oscar for 2001's "Monster's Ball" and at age 42 was deemed Esquire magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive." [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1697-10-creepiest-apps-phones-facebook.html">Look Who's Stalking: 10 Creepiest Apps for Phones, Facebook</a>]

Selena Gomez

The youngest woman on this list at age 20, the Texas-born Gomez first appeared as one of the singing and dancing kids on "Barney & Friends" and then became a major Disney Channel star with "Wizards of Waverly Place." Like many Disney stars, Gomez developed a pop-music career and then branched out into feature films, but is today best known for being the girlfriend of Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1881-british-facebook-hacker.html">Selena Gomez Facebook Hacker Gets Year in Jail</a>]

Eva Mendes

The Miami-born, Los Angeles-raised actress and model got her start in B movies but went on to star opposite Denzel Washington in "Training Day," Will Smith in "Hitch" and Nicolas Cage in "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans." Mendes, 38, is currently in a relationship with Canadian actor Ryan Gosling. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/10-threats-you-didnt-know-1504/">10 Computer Threats You Didn't Know About</a>]

Jessica Biel

Minnesota-born Biel, 30, kicked off her acting career at age 14 in the TV drama "7th Heaven." She's starred in dozens of feature films, but is best known for her on-again, off-again relationship with singer/actor Justin Timberlake, to whom she is now engaged. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1826-spyware-reference-sndmp.html">Spyware: What It Is, and How to Remove It</a>]

Emma Watson

Paris-born, England-raised Watson, 22, became a breakout star at age 11 with the release of the first "Harry Potter" movie. She played Hermione Granger in all eight "Potter" movies, and became an inevitable sex symbol to a generation of young nerds. She is currently the face of Lancôme cosmetics and has starring roles in four upcoming feature films. [<a href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/thats-an-order-10-facebook-privacy-tips-from-the-marines-1200/">That's an Order! 10 Facebook Privacy Tips from the Marines</a>]