Watching Porn On Mobile Devices Easy Way To Catch A Virus

Image via Flickr/ Magnus D

It’s a known fact that unprotected sex leads to viruses, and that includes Internet porn. Although PCs are generally protected with anti-viral software, mobile devices are typically vulnerable. And according to a new study from Web security firm Blue Coat, nearly one-quarter of malware on mobile devices originates from pornographic Web sites—pretty significant considering less than 1 percent of all mobile traffic deals with porn. In fact, porn led to more malware on smartphones and tablets than fake apps, email spam and malicious Web sites combined.

The nature of mobile devices makes differentiating malicious sites from legitimate ones difficult, according to Blue Coat, since there isn’t a way to hover over shortened URLs and see their true destination

“No matter how tantalizing a link might look on a desktop, there are cues that you shouldn’t go there, such as an address that just doesn’t look safe,” Hugh Thompson, chief security strategist for Blue Coat, told CNN. “When you click a link on a mobile phone, it’s harder to know what form of Russian roulette they’re playing.”

And although attacks thus far have mirrored those targeting PC users, security firms warn cybercriminals will likely begin specifically targeting mobile devices this year now that more people are using smartphones to conduct sensitive business such as banking.