Analysis Identifies Malware Threats from Ads on Top Porn Sites

CYBERSPACE—Media reports today note the results of a report by researcher Conrad Longmore into the prevalence of malware infections on several of the most-visited adult websites on the planet. Specifically, his analysis using “a combination of Alexa and Google Safe Browsing diagnostics” found a “spike” in malvertising, meaning malware emanating from third-party ads placed on the sites. According to BBC technology reporter Dave Lee, “Advertisements displayed by the sites, which are visited by millions every day, were found to be installing harmful files without users' knowledge.” Longmore, the BBC noted, “found that two popular sites — xHamster.com and Pornhub.com — posed the greatest risk.” Longmore, who posted his results on his Dynamoo’s Blog, was following up on an earlier article he had written a year and a half ago about malware on xVideos.com. “The results were quite surprising,” he wrote Tuesday. “Last time I calculated a 28 percent risk that the average visitor to xVideos.com would be exposed to malware. However, now that site has been cleaned up and appears risk free. But what was shocking was that now visitors to xHamster.com ran a 42 percent chance of malware contact, and Pornhub.com users an atrocious 53 percent chance with a lower infection rate on Tube8.com (14 percent) and YouJizz.com (2 percent).” Longmore’s analysis was not limited to so-called tube sites. He also took a malware-focused look at LiveJasmin.com and AdultFriendFinder.com, both of which came back with a zero percent rating for “malware contact probability. The same result held for current analysis of xvideos.com (which he said has “cleaned up” its malware issues), Redtube.com, XNXX.com and Youporn.com. Still problematic sites include the aforementioned four sites, none of which Longmore believes are themselves to blame. “I have no doubt that it is not the intention of the site operators to infect visitor's machines with malware, but instead third party content and infected banner ads are causing the problem,” he wrote. More in-depth analysis of Longmore’s research using Google and Alexa analytic tools, including the names of domains identified by Google as “functioning as intermediaries for distributing malware,” can be found on his blog. AVN contacted Pornhub.com, which said it is preparing a comment for release.