Three major porn sites, Xhamster.com, YouPorn.com and PornHub.com have recently been hit by a massive malware, attacking computer systems as well as fooling users to pay a fine in exchange for their hi-jacked systems.
Recently, advertisements via an ad network called TrafficHaus have hit porn sites with malware, which attacks computer systems running on outdated versions of Internet Explorer, The Register reported.
"The malicious advert - served by TrafficHaus - was for a dating application called 'Sex Messenger' and was displayed often enough that we were able to reliably reproduce the infection in our lab, something that isn't always feasible when it comes to malvertising," Malware Bytes reported.
The malware is reportedly carried by an application called "Sex Messenger" which is used by porn sites visitors to find sex partners online and meet up with them.
According to BBC, the malware that hit the two major porn sites as well as other websites works its way around users' computer and mobile phone security settings and installs ransomware into their victims' devices.
"It loads a page containing false accusations of criminal activity and instructions for paying a fine," BBC reported.
"These efforts ensure that only real users will get to see the exploit kit landing page therefore excluding honeypots and security researchers alike," wrote Jerome Segura, Malwarebytes' security consultant.
Although the malware was found in XHamster.com, it has now reportedly hit other porn sites like YouPorn.com and PornHub.com.
The same malware was said to have hit other websites this year, such as Yahoo.com and MSN.com.
On the other hand, back in 2013 IT expert Conrad Longmore said that porn sites are not always riddled with malware, contradictory to popular belief.
"Six out of 10 of the Web's most popular porn sites are squeaky-clean, and of the remaining four, the infection rates are still relatively low," NBC reported of Longmore's analytics for the 10 most popular porn sites on the internet.
