There are ten digital STIs that can harm your device when you’re looking at adult content, according to computer security firm Kaspersky Lab.
These are:
1. Trojans – They might masquerade as innocent programs, but they carry a harmful payload.
2. Drive-by downloads – Cybercriminals look for insecure web sites and plant a malicious script into the code on the pages. These take advantage of any unpatched applications on your computer and infect them automatically
3. Click-jacking – Click-jacking involves tricking someone into clicking on one object on a web page while they think they are clicking on another. Clickjacking can be used to install malware, gain access to a victim’s online accounts or to enable their webcam.
4. Tinder bots – These are automatic programs designed to masquerade as real people on a dating site to lure users into clicking on them, with the aim of tricking the victim into disclosing confidential data.
5. Cat-Phishing – This is when cybercriminals pose on dating sites or chat rooms, encouraging people to click on links for live sex chat or adult images.
6. Ransomware – Cybercriminals use ‘blockers’ to stop the victim accessing their device, often telling them this is due to ‘illegal pornographic content’ being identified on their device. Anyone who has accessed porn online is probably less likely to take the matter up with law enforcement.
7. Worm – This is a program that replicates, but does not write its code to other files: instead, it installs itself once on a victim’s device and then looks for a way to spread to other devices.
8. Pornware – This could be a legitimate program, but might be adware installed by another malicious program, designed to deliver inappropriate content to the victim’s device.
9. Spyware – Software that enables an attacker to secretly obtain information about the victim’s online activities and transmit it covertly from their device.
10. Fake Anti-virus – Fake anti-virus programs prey on people’s fear of malicious software which they believe may have been installed whilst looking at porn.