XXX means infected or how safe are pornographic resources?
Just recently, ICANN announced the delegation of the porn domain XXX, the registration of names in which shouldbeginEarly next year. The creation of this domain extension had been lobbied for a long time, but ICANN only now approved its implementation. Now the question of its security arises.
A recent study by Avast specialistsshowedIt's been reported that porn domains are less likely to infect users with viruses than regular websites. Meanwhile, researchers from the International Security Systems Laboratory believe that visitors to porn sites are at serious risk from cybercriminals. Most of these sites contain malicious code or scams designed to extort money from users.
The popularity of pornographic websites is also explained by the interest of hackers. Dr. Gilbert Vondracek, a computer security expert at the International Security Systems Laboratory, notes that an entire ecosystem has been created around such sites, where particularly large-scale cybercrimes are committed.
According to the laboratory's specialists, 12% of all websites offer pornography of some kind. Ninety percent of these sites are free. However, paid porn sites produce content that is distributed to free sites to generate traffic.
Around 3% of such websites are infected with malware of varying severity. Most websites used various "shady" practices to keep visitors on the site, including JavaScript traps and scripts that redirect visitors to other resources. Free porn sites make money from traffic, so malicious elements are designed to provide site owners with the traffic they need. Some sites sell traffic to other resources.
The study's authors also found that most users visit websites using browsers that contain vulnerabilities.
The study's authors emphasize that specialists working in the pornography industry possess sufficient knowledge to exploit vulnerabilities in the computers and browsers of pornography site visitors, which they do on a regular basis.
Experts note that the introduction of the .XXX domain extension will positively impact the market for adult websites, which have existed and will continue to exist. However, it's possible that those serious websites that register names in this domain extension, thereby legalizing their activities to some extent, will pay more attention to the security of their websites.
