What is it about Jessica Biel that makes her such a popular search term on the internet? Could it be the fact that she is dating pop star Justin Timberlake? Could it be her all-American appeal? Whatever the case may be, Biel is a very popular search term on the Internet. And a very dangerous search term to boot!

According to McAfee, an internet security company, the former “7th Heaven” actress has overtaken Brad Pitt as the most dangerous celebrity to search on the internet. “Cybercriminals are star watchers too — they latch onto popular celebrities to encourage the download of malicious software in disguise,” McAfee’s Jeff Green said in a statement. “Consumers’ obsession with celebrity news and culture is harmless in theory, but one bad download can cause a lot of damage to a computer.

The statement added, ““Every day, cybercriminals use celebrities’ names and images, like Kim Kardashian and Rihanna, to lure surfers searching for the latest stories, screen savers and ringtones to sites offering free downloads laden with malware.”

While we are still unsure what the implications of this statement will be for teenage boys across the country, computer and internet security has become a huge issue these days. There is a huge demand for security professionals to combat cybercriminals and protect our computers.

Even if you don’t want to admit to having the guilty pleasure of celebrity-watching, check out the statistics from McAfee. The top 15 most dangerous celebrities to search on the internet include:

1. Jessica Biel – Major buzz about her figure and high-profile relationship with Justin Timberlake makes Jessica Biel an easy target for spammers and hackers. When “Jessica Biel screensavers” was searched, almost half of the sites were identified as containing malicious downloads with spyware, adware and potential viruses.
2. Beyoncé – Beyonce tops the MTV Video Music Award nominee list and McAfee’s results as the most frequent, highly-ranked celebrity. Inputting “Beyoncé ringtones” into a search engine yielded a dangerous Web site linking to a distributor of adware and spyware.
3. Jennifer Aniston – Hollywood’s favorite leading lady should be searched with caution. More than 40% of the Google search results for “Jennifer Aniston screensavers” contained nasty viruses, including one called the “FunLove virus.
4. Tom Brady – The New England Patriot seems to attract many fans who want a free download of the athlete in action, but not the Trojan that comes with it, as identified by McAfee SiteAdvisor technology.
5. Jessica Simpson – Jessica Simpson is as dangerous to search online as she is famous. Searching for “Jessica Simpson videos” can mislead unsuspecting surfers to sites with potentially damaging downloads.
6. Gisele Bundchen – The world’s highest-paid supermodel is a popular target for cybercriminals. A search for “Gisele Bundchen photos” can direct users to red-ranked sites that breached browser security in McAfee’s tests.
7. Miley Cyrus – Cybercriminals are using Web sites related to Miley Cyrus’ image to link to other harmful sites containing spyware.
8. Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie – Both tabloid fixture Megan Fox and American icon Angelina Jolie resulted in an equal number of risky download Web sites, proving cybercriminals are in the business of capitalizing on the world’s most famous faces.
9. Ashley Tisdale – The “High School Musical” star is a popular search term when it comes to searching for screensavers. A host of screensaver Web sites contained numerous malware-laden downloads.
10. Brad Pitt – Appearing in the top spot last year, Brad Pitt fell towards the bottom of this year’s list, resulting in a few less, but just as dangerous, red and yellow-ranked Web sites.
11. Reese Witherspoon – Risky Web sites were identified when searching for “Reese Witherspoon” and “Reese Witherspoon photos” promoting free files with hidden malware.
12. Britney Spears – McAfee SiteAdvisor technology found a single site promoting free Britney Spears wallpaper that was embedded with more than 50 potentially infected downloads.
13. Rihanna -Free Rihanna ringtones are some of the most sought after, but some shady vendors mislead those who subscribe by gathering and selling their personal information.
14. Lindsay Lohan – McAfee SiteAdvisor flagged Lindsay Lohan screen saver sites as offering a combined 50+ free screen savers infected with Trojans, viruses and spyware.
15. Kim Kardashian – The biggest reality star in recent months is now susceptible to Internet lurkers too. A search for Kim Kardashian wallpaper and screen savers generated numerous downloads veiled with malware.