We live in a reality where most people’s worst nightmare is having someone see their search history, fearing being found out using pornographic websites or mobile apps. Who wants to be caught for being part of an online community where sensitive content is shared yet can be easily found by attackers in the cyber world? Many people who are still learning about computers and internet technology are easily tempted by the pornographic content out there, but console themselves with the thought, “I’m not that important, so why would someone try to attack me? So, if you’re still wondering if pornographic websites are bad for your security, stop.
Who is more vulnerable to security threats?
Not surprisingly, some companies that have studied this security issue have concluded that users of Apple computers are much less likely to be targets of attacks than PC users. Equally unsurprisingly, the motive behind the attacks is pornography or malware. In numbers, there are more than a few thousand attacks by more than 30 PC malware programs from the Beta Porn family and the Panda Trojan family, aimed at searching for login credentials on pornographic sites such as Porn. We are talking here about the highest-rated pornographic content sites known on the Internet. For a complete list, see
What are the most common privacy attack strategies?
But it is surprising that people still click on banners and popup promising a date with a half-naked blonde half a kilometer away in exchange for their credit card details. Meanwhile, no one is addressing password security, which means they are still weak and even less unique. No wonder that sensitive information is so easily stolen through phishing.
Let’s talk a bit more about pornography. Is a common term used to describe websites that illegally access sensitive information such as credit card numbers, user credentials, and passwords? Banks and other businesses that store such data are especially vulnerable to phishing.
The most common scenario with pornography is creating an identical copy of a company’s website. However, the copy is on the porn server, and all data left by the visitor is stored on the porn server. It is difficult to distinguish the fake site from the real one, especially if they use a web address similar to the real one.
Redirecting visitors to infected websites, either through the site itself or through the porn site’s advertising platform, is another way to compromise security.
