Killer phrase will fill your PC with spam

THERE IS ONE phrase which, if you type into any search engine will expose your PC to shed-loads of spam, according to a new report.

Researchers Ben Edelman and Hannah Rosenbaum reckon that typing the phrase "Free Screensavers" into any search engine is the equivalent of lighting a blue touch paper and standing well back.

The writers of the report work for Site Advisor, recently acquired by AV firm McAfee, so might be said to have some self interest in all of this.

More than 64 per cent of sites that are linked to this phrase will cause you some trouble, either with spyware or adware. The report found 1,394 popular keywords searches found via Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask that were linked to spyware or adware and the list is quite amusing. Do not type in the following words into any search engine:

Bearshare
Screensavers
Winmx
Limewire
Download Yahoo messenger
Lime wire
Free ringtones

Site Advisor reckons that the search engines should do more to point people who might type these words into their search engines away from the dodgy sites. µ