Careful what you click: Innocent  Google searches like ‘Taylor Swift’ and ‘how to make money’ can lead to malware

Innocent Google searchers may lead you straight into the hands of hackers.

Cybercriminals use popular search terms like “how to make money online” and “Taylor Swift” as honeypots to entice unsuspecting users to download malware.

Malware infiltrating your device gives it the ability to steal money and personal information from victims without their knowledge.

But there are specific searches that these bad actors tend to use in their evil deeds.

How to make money online

Money can certainly be made at home, but if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Some companies offer great employee perks or high wages – but good jobs are hard to find.

Be skeptical if someone emerges from the virtual sky with greater income or benefits than you would in a similar position at another company.

Also be wary of contracts or part-time jobs with many unusual perks.

This could be a part-time office support job you do remotely with a surprisingly generous compensation plan or a position that offers a much more flexible schedule than expected.

If they ask you to download special software to run a test, this is a red flag for malware.

Free people sites and phone numbers

Websites that promise to help you find people or trace phone numbers are notorious for ripping people off.

You are curious about new love interests, business connections, or an old friend.

There are (free) ways to dig up dirt, but these sites are simply trying to push you into an expensive subscription.

The worst of them may also leave digital breadcrumbs on your computer.

What do you do instead?

● Check publicly available information such as government documents, arrest records, and property information.

● Do a comprehensive search on Google. There is an art to this. Try these steps.

Malware on film

What could go wrong when your child searches for his favorite movie? Apparently, a lot.

Innocent searches for movies, shows, and celebrities yield horrific results.

A new study has found the most common search terms for children's devices being infected with malware.

Home Security Heroes, a company that helps families stay safe online, found that more than half of search results for “The Boss Baby,” “Transylvania 2,” and “Sonic the Hedgehog” could contain malware.

Many links usually lead to illegal download sites, just waiting to infect anything that comes their way.

TV shows are risky, too: 47 percent of Google searches related to the “Pokémon” series raised a red flag about malware.

Searches for Young Justice and Monster, a Japanese anime series, had 45 percent risky results.

The dark side of Hollywood

You may want to supervise if your kids are looking for Anne Hathaway, Kaley Cuoco, or Melissa McCarthy.

The results of these beautiful ladies can send them to dodgy websites that infiltrate their devices through malware.

The most dangerous actor to look out for is (drumroll) Chris Hemsworth.

If only Thor's hammer was powerful enough to send malware to another dimension.

Neil Patrick Harris and Chris Pine were the second and third most dangerous searches.

get rid of

If you and the kids are Swifties, beware.

79 percent of websites that appear on search engines when someone types Taylor Swift contain potential malware.

Internet searches for Ariana Grande and Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer revealed several suspicious results. Duly noted.

Your to-do list

We can't protect our children from everything online, but we can do a lot to help prevent difficult situations.

Safe Search Mode: Google, Bing, and Yahoo can filter explicit or potentially harmful content from search results. This includes not only text, but also images, videos, and websites.

● Google: On your device, go to the SafeSearch setting. Select Filter, Blur, or Off.

● Bing: Open your browser and go to Bing.com. Select the menu icon at the top right of the window. Select Settings > More. Choose SafeSearch preferences: Strict, Moderate, or Off. Select Save at the bottom of the menu.

● Yahoo: Go to the Yahoo search page and make sure you are signed in. Click the app icon > Settings > Preferences from the search results page. Select SafeSearch preferences from the drop-down menu.

Parental Controls: Add them to kids' smartphones, laptops, iPads, and smart devices. Be aware that older children will likely rally around them.

Talk to kids: They don't want malware on their devices (that means no more video games or social media), so share information like this to help them make better decisions.

Don't forget about protection: You should update your antivirus software on all your devices to protect against malicious searches that can lead to malware.