7 Porn

Let’s return to one of the most searched for items on the internet, porn. There are loads of legitimate and even free websites specialising in porn, this isn’t the place to list them though. A lot of the advances and features of the internet (both good and bad) came about because of the money being made from internet porn. Advertising is rife on porn sites and some point to dubious sites that then have more adverts that are pointing to malicious websites. Once again, it’s those looking for something for FREE that are the main targets, remember an advert can say one thing, but take you somewhere else!  One of the problems is searching for ‘legal’ porn and ending up in ‘illegal’ porn territory, because the links followed weren’t exactly 100% honest with their descriptions or images. This can cause more problems than any virus can, so be careful what you click on. If you do happen to stray into ‘dubious’ or ‘illegal’ porn territory, immediately close the browser; don’t try to follow other adverts and links to get out. Restart your web browser and go to Settings and select ‘delete browsing data’ to clear any cached images and files.

The safest option is to avoid online porn altogether, but assuming you aren’t going to stop surfing for porn any time soon, what can you do?  Firstly, check that your computer operating system, web browser and antivirus is fully up to date. Next, make sure your computer can play all the standard video formats by downloading a codec pack from a mainstream website. Test it by watching official Hollywood movie trailers from various legitimate websites. If you are ever prompted by something saying that you need this to watch something, disconnect yourself from the internet and restart. Remember don’t click anything; every button can be set to react as a ‘yes’. Also use the 'Incognito/InPrivate' features of your browser to make sure you leave as little a trail as possible. Lastly, resist the urge to search for porn at work. Many corporate firewalls log all website activity, and it could easily cost you your job. That also includes devices that you bring into work that can use the office WIFI connection, namely smartphones and tablets.

Also, please do not send emails to your friends’ work email address with porn images or videos embedded or linked, or forward on any you receive. Even if it is marked ‘NSFW’ (not safe for work) in the subject line, you do not know who else will get to see the contents, and people have lost their jobs as a result.  Also, many corporate email systems keep a compliance archive of every incoming and outgoing email, so even if they delete the original email, the evidence is still there. If you receive any unwanted ‘pornographic’ emails at work, please delete them and if you know the sender, ask them to stop. You may want to inform HR and IT that the emails were unwanted and ask what the correct procedure is to deal with them.

Porn site users are being increasingly targeted by criminals through “You have browsed illicit materials and must pay a fine.” type emails. These trick the victim into installing a ransomware virus. The email is reportedly from a law enforcement agency and the blocking of your computer is part of the process to enforce the fine. Many people pay up not realising they had been scammed.

Another trick criminals use is to send an email that claims that you have been hacked and that they have webcam footage of you ‘doing things’ while watching porn.  The email will appear to have come from your own email address, and they will point this out as proof that you have been hacked. Its pure opportunistic scare tactic sextortion based on a template and will not contain any evidence. Using common techniques, any email address can be spoofed so you are not actually receiving emails from your own email platform. The cyber journalist Davey Winder has a great article about this at: https://bit.ly/has-a-hacker-recorded-you-watching-porn

If you share a computer with anyone else, or use a computer that you do not own, my advice is that you refrain from using it to watch porn. Even if you purge all the browsing history, things can go wrong and get missed, or be part of a recovery or backup.  

Someone once said to me that the Apple iPad was perfect for watching porn. From a security point of view, it is a locked down operating system. You cannot install browser plugins, so it’s not vulnerable to a lot of the tricks that could fool a normal computer user. The same is true for Android based tablets, and smartphones in general. Chromebook laptops are the next best option, though be warned ChromeOS does allow browser extensions. 

Index or next chapter Phishing part 1