14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors of an extra-marital affair between Jesse James, Sandra Bullock's husband, and tattoo model Michelle "Bombshell" McGee is a hot subject on celebrity gossip websites right now. However, security researchers warn that Internet search results for a number of keywords related to the story have already been poisoned.
It's a well-known fact that cybercriminals are constantly watching the hot topics on Google Trends and adjusting their black hat search engine optimization (BHSEO) efforts accordingly. Therefore, its not unusual for stories that benefit from a fair amount of public interest to be targeted.
Celebrity gossip generally falls in that category and the latest rumors surrounding Sandra Bullock's marriage are no different. Sophos warns that searching for pictures of Michelle "Bombshell" McGee, Jesse James' alleged mistress, has a great chance of leading to malicious websites.
However, as we noticed ourselves malicious pages have also made it on the first page of Google search results for Michelle McGee's name. Most of the links lead to websites that bombard users with fake security alerts in an attempt to infect them with scareware.
"It isn't just pages about the tattoo-ridden McGee that are dangerous though. There are also poisoned webpages related to other search terms associated with Sandra Bullock and Jesse James's relationship. Clicking on links like this will endanger the security of your computer - exposing you to scams such as fake anti-virus software and identity theft," warns Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
Google is making considerable efforts to keep up and block these BHSEO campaigns. Many of the malicious search results will usually get a "This site may harm your computer" note attached to them pretty quickly, however, there are still enough that go undetected.
It is therefore recommended to always surf the Web with a capable and up-to-date antivirus program running on your computer. Users can also use free browser security extensions such as NoScript, Web of Trust (Firefox / IE) or Finjan's SecureBrowsing.